A new "flying squad" of traffic wardens will strike fear into the hearts of errant motorists with their latest weapon.

From this week the team of two will take turns to patrol the streets of Teesside on a shining silver scooter.

Concentrating mainly on Middlesbrough's Acklam, Marton and Linthorpe Roads, which have been identified as having the worst congestion, they will zoom up and down in a bid to shift vehicles from bus lanes and bays.

The new traffic wardens have been specially employed as part of a public service agreement between the Government and Middlesbrough Council, and have just completed their training.

Warden Sue Hall said she believes the initiative, thought to be the first of its kind in the country, will make motorists more vigilant in observing the rules.

"With the scooter, we will be everywhere," she said.

"It will definitely make it more difficult to get away with parking where you shouldn't."

And as part of the same agreement, from January the council will start charging utility companies a daily rate for digging up roads and adding to congestion.

Ian Busby, Middlesbrough Council's highway services manager, said the two initiatives will go hand in hand. "The Government has said that utility works and parking are the two main causes of congestion," he said.

Mr Busby said that far from further tarnishing motorists' image of traffic wardens, the flying squad will help enhance it. "I would have thought that people will support the idea of keeping the roads clear," he said.

But Andrew Black, of the One Stop Scooter Shop, which has supplied the Peugeot scooter at cost price, revealed that the wardens won't be engaging in high-speed chases.

"The scooter can go up to 50mph but the council has restricted it to 30mph," he said.