Cars are still trundling their way down a narrow street in the centre of Norwich despite the fact motors are banned in the road.

Exchange Street has been pedestrianised for around two years with the county council's Connecting the Norwich Lanes project encouraging more outdoor seating along the road.

However the Norwich Cycling Campaign group believes there is "a lot of confusion" over the restrictions, especially given the rules were temporarily lifted while roadworks were taking place in Grapes Hill last year.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request put to the Norfolk Constabulary by this newspaper shows four owners of vehicles have been punished with a fine for flouting the pedestrian and cycle zone restrictions this year.

The FOI, dated up to October 14, states one motor vehicle owner failed to comply with the traffic sign at 5.08pm on Tuesday, April 26.

This fine has been paid and the offence was discovered in person rather than through automated camera detection.

Another motorist failed to comply with the traffic sign around 9.10am on Saturday, August 27.

Then two drivers were caught using a prohibited vehicle in Exchange Street at 1.54pm and 12.21pm on Sunday, September 4 and Tuesday, September 13 respectively.

Norwich Evening News: Traffic continues to travel down Exchange Street during non-loading timesTraffic continues to travel down Exchange Street during non-loading times (Image: Archant)

These final three fines have all been unpaid at this stage according to the police.

Richard Bearman, chairman of the Norwich Cycling Campaign, said: "It needs to be very clearly signed. There has been a lot of confusion around Exchange Street.

"The timing and the advertising of those restrictions needs to be better by the council."

Norwich Evening News: Richard Bearman of the Norwich Cycling CampaignRichard Bearman of the Norwich Cycling Campaign (Image: Archant)

Cyclists and businesses in the street believe there are many more instances of drivers getting away with it.

Norwich Evening News: A traffic sign for Exchange Street showing it is a pedestrian and cycle zoneA traffic sign for Exchange Street showing it is a pedestrian and cycle zone (Image: Google Maps)

One 32-year-old cyclist living in Norwich, who did not wish to be named, said he has seen droves of cars flouting the rules in Exchange Street.

He said: "I think that the police need to help people by turning drivers back on a regular basis and then if the problem persists, start to issue penalties."

A staff member at The Wallow Wine Bar previously said the traffic is "pretty consistent" along the street since the restrictions began.

Norfolk County Council has been contacted for comment.