He became irate and he started pushing and shoving

Traffic warden Mark Holmes

In Hartlepool it is mandatory for wardens to wear a vest every time they are on the streets.

The move was prompted by five attacks on traffic wardens in the past two years.

One victim, Mark Holmes, was assaulted by an angry male driver.

"I was just dealing with a motorist and he became irate and he started pushing and shoving," he said.

He added that drivers seemed to be getting more and more angry when issued with a ticket, but traffic wardens just had to live with the abuse.