Drivers are furious at having to wait nearly half an hour to pay for their parking spot this afternoon after a machine broke down in a Marlow car park.

Reader Leanne Baxter sent this photo from Liston Road Car Park, near Waitrose, where she said she was forced to wait 25 minutes with one of the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) machines out of action.

And users are also finding the machines did not register their number plates correctly on the way in, meaning they have to manually enter their details.

Kate Cooper took to Twitter to air her frustration. She said: “How can a 20 minute wait to pay for parking in Liston road Marlow be justified? One machine for all users? Cost saving for who?”

And Linda Shea, also queuing , tweeted: "Also stuck in this ridiculous nightmare".

It is not the first time the ANPR machines have caused controversy, with some residents using the 'Flexi Park' system complaining the cameras register their number plates incorrectly, leaving them with a huge bill for parking time they never used.

Long queues also formed when the automated machines were first introduced last year, with some motorists complaining the system was over-complicated.

Wycombe District Council, which owns and operates the car park, apologised for the queues.

A spokesman confirmed it is looking into the problem and will provide more information tomorrow.