IT'S payback time for rogue motorists who have ignored police warnings and continue to cause mayhem for shopkeepers and residents in Glasgow's East End.

IT'S payback time for rogue motorists who have ignored police warnings and continue to cause mayhem for shopkeepers and residents in Glasgow's East End.

Police have ordered a crackdown and are imposing £30 fixed penalty fines on drivers caught double parking at rows of shops in the Riddrie area.

The blitz follows a flood of complaints from the public and an acknowledgement by senior officers that their previous "softly softly" approach has simply not worked.

The "hotspots" are shops in Gartcraig Road and Cumbernauld Road, where drivers are repeatedly double parking - some leaving their car to buy cigarettes and others to buy a takeaway meal.

Sergeant Gwen McEwan, of the east centre community policing team based at London Road, said it was a issue which had driven the local community round the bend.

She said: "Shopkeepers have complained they can't unload because of the parking problems, while residents are not happy either.

"Some mums have told us how difficult it is for them to manoeuvre around parked vehicles with their prams.

"We have warned drivers about their conduct but they continue to double park.

"It's an ongoing problem so we have decided to enforce the law by imposing fixed penalty notices.

"Any driver caught but wants to avoid court action has to pay a £30 fine.

"We've started to issue notices and will continue to do so for as long as it takes."

Speaking outside the shops in Gartcraig Road, one young mother, who asked not to be identified, said: "This place can be a nightmare when you're pushing a pram.

"No matter how many of them receive warnings from the police they just continue to double park as though they are above the law."

One local shopkeeper said: "There are times when I can't get parked to unload my van because of the number of people who think it's okay to double park.

"These people think that sort of behaviour is all right. They are only thinking of themselves.

"I watched a old man sit in his car for a good 20 minutes. He couldn't drive off because someone had double parked next to him and went for a Chinese takeaway."

To reinforce the crackdown, some of the shops are displaying letters from the police which warn they are getting tough with locals responsible for what they describe as "dangerous driving".