Bathers fond of the popular Għajn Tuffieħa Bay might want to consider catching the bus next time they head there – a yellow line is about to replace the white line along the side of the road where cars are normally parked.

I had never been fined for parking there. Now I have suddenly received a parking fine and I saw both wardens and police officers dishing them out

This move, according to Mellieħa mayor John Buttigieg, is intended to “avoid confusion”.

Mr Buttigieg explained that the local council had been in touch with the transport authorities after bathers complained of a sudden wave of parking fines.

“Malta Public Transport complained that cars parked along the continuous white line on the road leading to the bay were often making it difficult for buses to pass,” he said.

The authority indicated that the white line was meant to delineate the carriageway and cars could not park beyond it and on the road itself.

The bay, popularly known as Riviera, is a favourite destination with Maltese and tourists for its golden sand and pristine water.

The road where cars are given parking tickets.

A number of them last week complained of receiving tickets for parking along the main road leading up to the official car park. “I’ve been coming here for years and I’ve parked along the road countless times before. Everyone does,” Adrian Vella, 33, told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“I had never been fined for parking there. Now I have suddenly received a parking fine and I saw both wardens and police officers dishing them out. There isn’t a no parking sign anywhere in sight so why shouldn’t I be able to park?”

Questions sent to Transport Malta yesterday were not replied to by the time of writing, and neither were questions sent earlier this week to the police and the government agency handling the warden system.

Davis Schembri, another bather who was recently fined, complained that the road markings were not clear.

“I believe that, at the very least, if this is a no parking zone, sign posts with ‘no parking’ should be installed. I do not live in Malta and there was no way of knowing that parking is all of a sudden prohibited,” he said.

Mr Schembri said stopping cars from parking along the road would ultimately limit the number of people who could visit the beach as the public car park there could only take so many.