Outrage

The hike will affect both patients and visitors who use the parking facilities at Warrington Hospital.

Bosses say the rise, the first in three years, will help fund the maintenance of the car park.

But regular visitors to the hospital say the increase is outrageous.

Bertie Mulholland, who visits his wife at the hospital every day, said: "What I find more annoying than anyhting else is that there are attendants on that car park at 6pm on a Sunday night.

"The place is deserted but how much must they be paying these people to do this? If costs like this were more carefully managed, there would be no need for the increase.

"I wonder if parking costs are being increased to subsidise the debts of the hospital."

And the news has not gone down well with residents of nearby Wellfield Street either. They have long campaigned against visitors to the hospitals using their street as a car park.

One resident Karl Ciz said: "The problem is bad enough as it is. When they can park across the road for free that's exactly what they'll do. The hospital car park isn't big enough to start with and now that the prices have gone up, it will just exacerbate it. It's as simple as that.

"It's already got to the point where we can't park our own cars outside our homes. I have to park mine 200 feet away at tea time and then the streets are deserted when visiting times are over.

"How much does it take to maintain a car park and when was the last time it was resurfaced?

"This is purely a money-making exercise for the hospital and yet another example of bosses not listening to local residents."

Mike Atkinson, head of hotel services at the hospital, said: "The rise is necessary for the trust to meet the increasing costs of running and maintaining its car parks. This ensures that money for clinical services is not being used to subsidise parking facilities.

"Even with this increase, parking at both sites remains lower than at most hospitals in the north west."

Patients and visitors will be required to pay £1.50 to park their cars at the hospital for up to three hours, an increase of 50p.

For a stay longer than three hours the price will rise by 40p from £1.60 to £2.

For stays between 6pm and 7pm visitors will pay £1.50 instead of £1.

Blue badge holders will continue to park for free and concessions are still available for regular visitors.

Notices have been displayed at both sites notifying patients and visitors of the price changes.