COUNCIL car park charges are damaging Cornish towns, say campaigners.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is calling for two hours’ free parking in all council-owned car parks across the county.

Only this, says the group, will counter the damage caused to town centres by out-of-town retail developments.

The CPRE says town centre shops are closing and jobs are being lost.

‘The current situation is unfair all round,’ said CPRE Cornwall chairman Richard Stubbs.

‘Big retailers, encouraged by the opportunity to offer free parking, usually build on greenfield sites, destroying our countryside and wildlife.

‘Shoppers and visitors to our town centres are being driven away by car parking charges.’

The Cornish branch of the CPRE has written to all the county’s MPs and Cornwall Councillors hoping to sway opinion.