FREE parking is on offer in some council-run car parks in Gwent.

Caerphilly County Borough Council scrapped parking charges at its car parks at the start of the coronavirus pandemic - and now it has been announced they will not be reinstated until January next year.

When the charges were first scrapped the council said the fees would be waived “indefinitely”.

The council currently makes around £600,000 annually from car parking charges.

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The deputy council leader Cllr Sean Morgan said: “This Labour administration is working hard to mitigate coronovirus impacts on small businesses.

“I would encourage residents to support the locally owned small businesses who have proved to be invaluable during this pandemic.

“With this in mind, we in Caerphilly have made the decision to waive parking charges in town centres until January in order to support these businesses who are such an integral part of our communities.”

Monmouthshire council has also scrapped parking fees at some of its car parks as part of an effort to encourage people to shop local.

Tiverton Place in Abergavenny, Cornwall House car park in Monmouth and areas of Welsh Street car park in Chepstow will now benefit from one hour’s free parking and additional disabled parking bays.

Visitors still need to get a ticket from the parking machine at Abergavenny and Monmouth and display it in their vehicle.

Newport council previously said they wouldn’t pause charges on council-owned car parks and have been contacted for an update, but none was received.

Parking is already free in Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent council-owned car parks.