By Courtney Cameron

Midwives at a hospital say they feel they've got nowhere safe to park for work.

Staff at the Princess Maternity Hospital in Glasgow, who can't afford £20 a day to park at their work, have said their cars are being damaged after being forced to leave their vehicles elsewhere.

Due to problems with both resident and commuter parking, the city council has now launched a public consultation on whether Dennistoun and Royston should have parking restrictions.

Jackie Stearn, a midwife at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, parks a 15-minute walk away from her work every day.

She's concerned that if parking restrictions were introduced, NHS staff would have to park even further from the hospital.

She said: "We understand the residents are annoyed but we don't appreciate the abuse and the damage to the cars.

"It's a daily occurrence, we often come back and find wing mirrors hanging off, windows smashed or tyres slashed.

"We've got a busy and stressful job as it is, we shouldn't be having to worry about where we are going to park safely within walking distance of our own work."

She added: "We are frontline staff - we shouldn't have to deal with issues like this."

Sandra Frame has been a midwife for 25 years and has said the issue is making her consider early retirement because she feels walking to and from her car "isn't safe".

She said: "Personally, I will probably be looking to retire earlier because of the impact it's going to have on my daily life.

"I do twelve hour shifts and it's probably going to be extended to 15 hours a day."

In a recent survey of parking issues across Glasgow, Dennistoun and Royston were found to have the biggest and most regular difficulties with problematic parking.

Councillor for Dennistoun, Allan Casey, said he is working with the local authority and hospital staff to find a solution to the problem.

He said: "I find it unacceptable that nurses and hospital staff are returning to their cars and to find them damaged.

"The frustrations of the community is that they see numerous car parks at places of work lying empty and they are feeling the pressures of the commuters coming in to the area - which is difficult.

"We need to find a solution that suits everyone."

In a statement, the NHS said: "As the car park is privately owned we do not have any control over the tariffs Imagile choose to charge.

"While we understand these proposed changes may present difficulties for our staff, NHSGGC has no authority or responsibility for on-street car parking and have no authority to monitor parking on public roads."

The council will begin a formal consultation on a restricted parking zone later this year.