Nearly half the traffic warden jobs in Stoke-on-Trent are currently vacant – as bosses are struggling to get people to apply for the 'contentious' roles.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has 15 vacancies within its civil enforcement team, which is responsible for enforcing on-street and off-street parking restrictions across the Potteries.

And councillors are concerned that the lack of civil enforcement officers in the city means illegal parking near schools is going unpunished – potentially leaving pupils at risk. Council managers say there is an ongoing recruitment campaign to fill the vacant roles, with appeals being made on social media, but so far this has met with little success.

They think that potential applicants are being put off by the prospect of having to deal with angry motorists on a daily basis. The issue came up as members of the housing, development and growth scrutiny committee discussed the council's new corporate strategy, which will set out the authority's priorities, such as safer communities.

Councillor Faisal Hussain said: "Within parking enforcement I think there are a number of vacancies, and so the council is not able to do enforcement work around illegal parking at schools. So what is the council doing to fill those vacancies?"

The council thinks that potential applicants are being put off by the prospect of having to deal with angry motorists on a daily basis (Unsplash).

Carol Gibbs, director of housing, development and growth, acknowledged that there was an issue around civil enforcement office recruitment. She said: "You're absolutely right, we have 15 vacancies, which is a huge number within a small team. We are trying all sort of things to fill those. We're doing things all over social media encouraging people to apply. We've been down to the police to see if there's anyone retiring who might want to do this sort of work. We've been through the normal recruitment process several times, and now we'll have a continuous advert out for it.

"Unfortunately it's not a job that people relish, as I'm sure you'd all understand. It can be quite contentious a lot of the time. So if anyone knows anyone who might want to do a job like that, please advise them that there is an ongoing recruitment."

Committee chair Gurmeet Singh Kallar said he could understand why the job would not appeal to many people. He said: "I agree that it is a contentious job, where you're constantly having people wanting to argue with you, so I think that's why people aren't applying."

According to the job advert on the council's website, the role of civil enforcement officer has a salary of £24,294 to £26,421. The advert says the civil enforcement officers are the 'eyes and ears of the local community' who are responsible for 'keeping traffic moving and people safe, providing advice to residents, businesses and visitors, whilst enforcing traffic regulation orders fairly, accurately and consistently'.

The job would suit people who 'enjoy working outdoors' and who have 'excellent customer service skills'. As well as patrolling the streets and car parks of Stoke-on-Trent, the city council's civil enforcement officers also work in Newcastle and the Staffordshire Moorlands.

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