MOTORISTS are furious that a Suffolk village has brought in one of the highest charges in the county - with an £8 fee for parking over four hours.New charges have been imposed at the large car park close to the quay in Orford, near Woodbridge, which is mainly used by tourists, fishermen and people going on river cruises.

MOTORISTS are furious that a Suffolk village has brought in one of the highest charges in the county - with an £8 fee for parking over four hours.

New charges have been imposed at the large car park close to the quay in Orford, near Woodbridge, which is mainly used by tourists, fishermen and people going on river cruises.

The huge hike has infuriated fishermen who park there before taking a boat to Orford Ness where they spend many hours fishing.

Many of them boycotted the car park recently when they read the charges on a board displayed by the New Orford Town Trust.

The revenue from the car park is used by the Trust to maintain the adjacent free public toilets, the town hall and the quay. Parking is not allowed on the quay.

The wording on the notice board is ambiguous but appears to suggest that parking over four hours will cost £8.

The charges are: car/van 1hr, £2; 4hr, £3 and 24 hrs, £8. A vehicle with a trailer pays £4, £6 or £16 and coaches pay £8 for four hours.

Mick Thorpe, a fisherman who has received complaints from other fishermen, said: ''The prices have been shoved up from £3 a day to £8 which is an increase of 160per cent and that is not good, especially during the times we are facing at the moment.

''There is a lot of speculation about why this has been done and it could be because thousands of pounds were spent on doing up the quay and I expect they are trying to get some money back”

In Woodbridge the maximum charge for an hour is 70p and for four hours it is £1.90.

The New Orford Town Trust is a charity which owns and manages some village assets on behalf of the villagers. It is run by 12 elected officers who are also parish councillors.

The Trust has been unable to provide a comment about the increased parking charges.