New parking charges introduced in Pembrokeshire car parks as early as next week have been roundly condemned by councillors and members of the public.

All-year charges will be brought in at St Thomas Green and Rifleman's Field in Haverfordwest, and Station Road, Pembroke from Monday, February 1. Year-round parking charges will also be introduced at the Mart Ground in Crymych from Tuesday March 1.

Cllr Jonathon Nutting, who spoke against the charges when they came before the Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee, told the Western Telegraph he was "gobsmacked" that the council had gone ahead with them.

He said that the car park at Station Road was largely used by residents who would simply find other places to park.

"They will find parking elsewhere which will cause congestion," he said. "There is a lot of strong feeling that they will not pay the daily rates and a strong feeling of why should they pay for something they don't feel the council has a right to charge them for."

He added that the car park had not been improved and was not properly surfaced

"It's going to cause far more problems for little income," he said. "I suspect they won't cover the charge of putting the machine in and paying someone there checking."

Two further car parks will see the introduction of seasonal charges on March 1st - High Street in St Dogmaels and Station Hill in Goodwick.

These charges will be in place annually between 1st March and 31st October.

Anne Cakebread, who runs the Oriel Milgi in St Dogmaels, said that residents' main concern was that parking would overflow into the village and make the narrow roads, many of which don't have pavements, unsafe, especially for children going to school.

"We had two children knocked over in High Street last year," she said. "With more cars not using the car park, parking on the road and obscuring visibility, there is a big fear there is going to be a fatality."

She said that the car park would take around three years before it started to generate any money.

For full details of all the charges, see www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/parking.