For weeks there have been free all-day stays as machines were out of order due to a problem reconnecting the electricity supply - temporarily disconnected while work was carried out on the toilets in the corner of the carpark.

This happened about eight weeks ago, although for seven to 10 days afterwards the machines continued to run on a back-up battery .

Cathy Wardle, who lives in Thame and uses the recycling facilities in the car park, said she hadn't used the parking lately and was not aware it was currently free, but had parked there in the past when she used to work in the town.

She said: "It happened a couple of times before and it was lovely when they were out of order because it meant I did not have to rush back in the last 15 minutes. I never got a ticket here either."

A council spokesman said: "The machines themselves are fine, so we believe there is a fault in the cable that goes right back to the supply into the car park from the main road. The main cause of the delay is trying to locate the fault in this cable.

Oxfordshire County Council engineers and two of the council's electrical contractors have all been unable to find the fault and so they have now approached Southern Electric; workmen were due out on Monday this week, but failed to show due to illness. They are expected again this week.

Although there were almost 50 cars parked there on Wednesday, not everyone is happy, with season ticket holders unaffected by the free.period.

Other customers seemed confused when parking up as to whether they would be in danger of receiving a fine if the machines were fixed that day.

Council technical and support manager, John Backley, added: "Both machines have an A5 sign over the coin slot saying 'out of order'. However, to avoid confusion, we will put bags over the machines and add signs to say there is no charge until the machines are working again."

The council would like to re-assure customers that they will not issue excess charges on the day the machines are fixed until the next full day they are working.