Liberal Democrats at Cornwall Council have condemned the Tory-led authority's proposed parking charges for next year.

"These proposals show utter contempt for motorists, for localism and for reality," said Cllr Alex Folkes, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group.

"Quite simply they are treating motorists as a cash cow, but they won't make the money they think they will and local shops and businesses will be the ones who suffer."

"The council consulted local areas on the right charges for their areas. But the cabinet is proposing increasing these amounts by inflation. Not only does that defeat the object of some of the proposed charges, but it also won't work.

"They tried this trick last year but yet again the parking service failed to meet its income target and had to be bailed out to the tune of £3 million. That cash came from delaying road safety work and re-surfacing."