IT DOESN'T say it in the job description, but putting up with vile abuse from angry drivers is all in a day's work for a parking attendant. While most of the abuse is limited to pithy insults, it does occasionally spill over into outright violence.

Southampton's parking attendants have been spat at, pelted with eggs and even threatened with weapons.

In the past six years there have been 461 reports of parking attendants being victims of abuse or violent attacks.

In January alone there were 14 incidents - the worst month for more than three-and-ahalf years - and the true figure could be far worse, as many go unreported.

An astonishing 90 per cent of attendants had experienced some form of violence and a third had been physically assaulted, according to a nationwide report by the public service union Unison.

Now the much-maligned traffic warden is set to undergo a makeover.

From March 31, they will be known as civil enforcement officers (CEOs) and have much wider powers to deal with people who flout traffic laws.

So what's in a name? Well according to Southampton City Council's parking manager Stuart Chivers, it might help rid the stigma that goes with handing out parking tickets.

"I think it will help take some of the stigma away, because parking attendants are often somebody who is just seen to be taking money away from the public," he said.

"Some of our staff will certainly not tell members of the public what they actually do for a living because people will always have a story related to a parking issue."

Mr Chivers said reports of attendants being attacked or abused more than quadrupled six years ago, when the council took full control of parking enforcement from the police.

Since then several drivers have even been put behind bars for attacking attendants.

"When somebody drives by and shouts abuse there is very little you can do to stop that, but we've also had reports of stone-throwing, egg-throwing, spitting and threats of violence and people pulling out knives,"

Mr Chivers said.

"Incidents include somebody jumping on the back of an attendant and punching them to the ground, while another chap threatened two staff with an axe."

Only one attendant has quit as a result of an attack. The entire team are given training to deal with confrontational situations, boost their confidence and know how to read body language.

Mr Chivers added: "The industry itself has a high turnover, but in Southampton we have good retention rates. A lot of our staff like being outdoors and helping members of the public, even if they are often not perceived that way."

The Daily Echo shadowed a Southampton parking attendant, who wanted to remain anonymous, as he walked his "beat" in the city centre this week.

He quit his job as an inventory manager three years ago, as he was sick of working nine to five inside an office.

"It was only meant to be a six-month stop-gap, but here I am three years later," he said. "I never really had any preconceived ideas notions about the job, but I certainly never thought I would end up doing it - that's for sure."

The 37-year-old, who strolls more than 12 miles a day at work, admitted he was often hesitant to reveal to people what he did for a living.

"There is a common misconception that we are all working toward some sort of target, but that is not the case in Southampton," he said. "We are just issuing tickets to people who have done something wrong and that is us simply doing our jobs."