Rhyl: Welsh-default ticket machine causes car park delays

Motorist: "You don't expect to stand in a queue for half an hour whilst people try and work out how the machine works"

Some visitors to a seaside town were left frustrated when a pay and display parking machine gave instructions in Welsh.

Queues developed as non-Welsh speakers struggled to work out how to use the ticket machine at the underground car park in Rhyl, Denbighshire.

The council is looking into it, but said drivers had other payment options.

It also said the machines default to Welsh, but users can change that by pressing a "language button".

Queues were made worse when the machine failed to recognise debit cards.

One local motorist, who is not fluent in Welsh, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that one driver was so frustrated he gave up trying to figure out the machine.

In another instance, a crowd gathered around a family from Merseyside "trying to solve the problem".

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"The whole point of a car park is you can park quickly and easily," said the motorist, who did not want to be named.

"You don't expect to stand in a queue for half an hour whilst people try and work out how the machine works - or doesn't work in this case."

Denbighshire council said: "Our pay and display machines default to Welsh, but there is a large grey 'language button' that people can press to change the language.

"This is explained on the machines; however, customer service management is also patrolling to assist customers on site."

The council said there were two other machines available in the Rhyl Central car park and people could also use the smartphone app.

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