A Wirral resident was left furious at parking issues during The Open golf championship in Hoylake this weekend.

The Open was held at the Royal Liverpool course between Thursday and Sunday with 250,000 estimated to have enjoyed one of the most prestigious competitions in golf, won on Sunday by American Brian Harman.

During the tournament, Wirral Council urged people to travel into Hoylake by public transport, with parking restrictions brought in to try and manage traffic.

Some roads including Stanley Road and those nearest the Royal Liverpool golf course were subject to stringent enforcement by traffic officers.

Despite these measures, some local people were very unhappy with the parking and traffic management situation during the event.

David Cooke, who lives on Coronation Road off Stanley Road, believed people were allowed to park on his road without permission and accused Wirral Council’s parking enforcement team of “playing God” over how therules were carried out.

He also described the disruption caused by the thousands of visitors as ” an absolute nightmare” for him adding he and others were “furious at Wirral Council’s shambles of a traffic management plan.”

Mr Cooke said he understood the need for enforcement due to the large crowds and visitors but said people were being let in who shouldn’t be.

A photo seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service appears to show a parking permit for a different Wirral area displayed in a car parked on one of the restricted roads during the period of the tournament.

At the same time, Mr Cooke said he struggled through the week of The Open to get visitors past enforcement, including a plumber and a pizza delivery driver.

He told the LDRS: “You can’t have it both ways. You can stop people who are working coming down but people who are not working haven’t got proper permits. The people at the top of the road are playing God.” He also accused traffic enforcement of being “rude and aggressive.”

A Wirral Council spokesperson said: “Stringent parking restrictions have been put in place, particularly at locations closest to the Royal Liverpool Golf Course, to ensure residents are protected from illegal parking and also as part of wider security measures at The Open.

“Parking permits and access permits have been made available and can be easily obtained from the Hoylake Drop-In Centre (also via able to be contacted by email) and many residents have taken these up, including those required at short notice. Access for delivery drivers has been included in the plans and deliveries have continued to be made.”

However Mr Cooke does not think enforcement for the Open was handled properly. He said: “What we feel is that the council is going to claim all the glory but the council also has a responsibility to keep the residents’ lifestyles the same as possible.

“It’s an absolute disgrace really. It should be good for Hoylake this kind of major event but it’s frustrating the way this has been handled.”