Government contracted construction workers in Belfast are being given tickets by traffic wardens working for another department.

Builders involved in the 'Belfast: Streets Ahead' project are having work vehicles ticketed by wardens on behalf of the Department for Regional Development.

The construction work- mainly for the new Victoria Centre, has been ongoing in the Cornmarket and Ann Street area, which is a designated pedestrianised zone.

However, there has been criticism of the zone being clogged up with construction and delivery vehicles.

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In a statement to the BBC, the Department for Regional Development (DRD) said: "The contractor is aware that access permit is not a parking permit but is issued to facilitate the delivery of materials and short-term working."

The DRD said that outside the permitted delivery time - between the hours of 6pm and 11am, access is controlled through the issuing of an access permit, authorised by the DRD.

Enforcement of parking contraventions is dealt with through the issue of penalty charge notices.

The Department of Social Development responded that the 'Belfast: Streets Ahead project' involved "modernising the maintenance and management of city centre streets as well as their physical renewal".

A spokesperson said: "Discussions on how best to develop the strategy will be taken forward within the 'Belfast: Streets Ahead' stakeholder group which will provide views to DRD Roads Service on the way forward."

(VB/JM)