It’s enough to make you choke on your Devon cream tea.

Tourists and owners of holiday homes in swanky Salcombe have been hit by yet another financial penalty for supporting the town – the third in as many years.

Council chiefs already charge double council tax on second homes, which make up half the properties in the Devon resort, and they have enforced a ‘principle residency’ rule preventing non-residents buying new-builds.

Now they are targeting motorists by introducing what is thought to be Britain’s first differential pricing scheme, with locals paying far less for a day’s parking than visitors or overnight guests.

And this time round, local business owners in so-called Chelsea-on-Sea are unhappy.

They think takings will be down this Easter, as holidaymakers opt for other West Country resorts.

They warn the latest ‘tourist tax’ in Britain’s most expensive seaside property hotspot will hammer family budgets and deter visitors.

Tourists will pay up to £10 to park for a day – 25 per cent more than locals. Residents pay £5 for an annual permit that lets them use the town’s car parks for £8 a day.

Shop and cafe owners in Salcombe say visitors feel ‘fleeced’ by South Hams District Council’s two-tier parking.

Beck Gordon, 51, who owns the quayside Salcombe Yawl cafe and Norman’s Fishmonger, said: ‘There’s a perception among visitors that locals are being looked after, while they are left to pay the price, yet visitors are the ones bringing money into the town. 

‘Our businesses are 90 per cent dependent on the tourist trade. There’s this image of Salcombe as being only for the affluent, but it’s not true. We see lovely families for whom money is tight.

‘Paying £70 a week to park is bad enough, but to know you’re paying more because you’re not from here – that’s unfair and wrong.

‘This Easter is already quieter than previous years, and you wonder whether visitors are already looking elsewhere.’

In Captain Morgan’s Cafe, manager Emma Stevenson, 37, said the policy amounted to a parking tax on visitors, adding: ‘The council is taxing tourists twice. They’re paying more to stay here because second-home owners are passing on some double council-tax costs. Then they pay an extra premium to park in town. It’s extortionate and an unfair hit on families.’

Alan Spain, manager of The Bakehouse, described it as ‘unfair and unacceptable’. He said: ‘You’re asking visitors to drive all the way to Salcombe for the privilege of paying more to park so locals can have a discount.

‘Visitors understandably feel they are being fleeced.’ 

Andrew Fowler, manager of Salcombe Coffee Company, said: ‘Making visitors pay more than locals to park and charging second-home owners double council tax amount to a tourist tax, no question. We should be embracing tourism, not taxing it.’

At Salcombe Gin distillery, sales manager Tonya McGauley, 38, said: ‘No business wants to rely solely on summer trade, but for many in Salcombe that is the reality. We need to look after visitors.’

The policy affects council parking across the district, including the holiday resorts of Dartmouth and Kingsbridge. South Hams District Council said: ‘We are in the pre-election period and therefore unable to comment.’