MOTORISTS who have been fined for parking illegally on Skipton's famous High Street setts since last October are to be offered refunds following a landmark ruling.

North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) chiefs have said cash will be paid back as "a gesture of goodwill" after driver Jim Brosnan, who was fined in January, appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.

Its adjudicator found that signs on the setts outlining the parking regulations were not sufficiently clear to drivers.

New regulations on market days setts parking were brought in last October, aimed at creating "flexibility" by allowing parking on days when the market finished early or a large number of stallholders stayed away because of bad weather.

NYCC chiefs now have to re-advertise the traffic regulation orders, which is likely to take several weeks, before installing clearer signs.

A North Yorkshire council spokesman said: "The legislation governing parking restrictions is complex and is open to different interpretation. The council was of the view that the scheme complied with all relevant legislation, but the issues raised by the adjudicator have highlighted that changes are required to ensure the scheme is clear to motorists.

"In the interests of fairness all motorists who have been issued with a penalty charge notice since the traffic regulation order was implemented on October 20, 2014, will be provided with a full refund."

The spokesman added that it was "not considered appropriate to continue enforcement" on the setts until the new traffic orders had been implemented - but warned that motorists were still bound by the current regulations until this happened and could still be fined.

Town centre manager Brett Butler said that Skipton Town Council supported moves to make the regulations clearer to motorists but meanwhile asked drivers to make sure they did not cause obstructions on market days.

He said: "By-laws are in place to protect the market and these prohibit vehicles from causing obstructions to the operation of the market.

"We will continue to open up areas for parking where it is safe to do so and we would again ask motorists to avoid any areas where barriers or cones are in use to protect market stalls."

Mr Brosnan, of Gargrave, had parked his car on a snowy Saturday morning. In his appeal, he said that his car was the only penalty notice issued though he had counted 55 other cars on the setts at the same time.

He said: "Obviously I was delighted with the result of the appeal, but it was a question of principle. I agree that parking on the setts should be regulated. But it is obvious that the regulations need clarifying to avoid confusion."