COUNCILLORS are appealing to residents to help keep York clean by avoiding parking on their streets during gully cleaning.

Residents risk being fined if they do not move their cars when asked.

A City of York Council report said that nine tickets had been issued during a gully cleaning day in York last year, after notices telling people not to park on the streets had been sent to homes

All the recipients - from Carnot Street, Balfour Street and Roseberry Street - objected to the tickets, citing reasons such as they had been on holiday or not received notification.

But City of York Council believes some residents just failed to move their vehicles.

Now a review of the city's cleaning of gullies, gutters, footpaths and back lanes in terraced streets has prompted commercial services officers to study the issue.

Members of the council's Commercial Services Scrutiny Board suggested including cleaning dates in Your Ward newsletters, informing residents of when they should move their cars.

But Councillor Ken King asked if the council could do more.

He said disabled drivers might find it difficult to park elsewhere and suggested informing residents of the nearest car parks.

He said: "Are we confident we are doing everything we can to inform people streets are being cleaned? Is there anything else we can do to tell people that their cars must be moved?

"If the answer is no, that we are taking all possible steps, then fine, but it may be possible somebody can think of something else that we maybe need to do.

"Disabled drivers in particular might find it quite difficult to park further away."

Board chairwoman Coun Irene Waudby wrote a foreword to the report, which said the condition of York's terraced areas and how to maintain high standards of cleanliness had been a concern for some time.

She said genuine and lasting improvements in cleanliness could only be achieved through working in partnership with other council departments and terraced communities.

Coun Waudby wrote: "This may mean something as simple as moving a car at the right time to enable gully cleansing, spending a moment more to make sure rubbish is presented properly, or finding out more and getting involved with recycling in their area.

"To the many good neighbours who already do so, we send our thanks."

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, May 05, 2005