Drivers incensed with road rage will soon be fighting in a residential street if its continual parking problems are not resolved, fed-up residents say.

Dubbed one of Canterbury's worst routes, Martyrs' Field Road is lined with parked cars on both sides throughout the day - making it too narrow for two vehicles to pass.

The dilemma has left residents with dozens of hefty repair bills following wayward reversing by nervous drivers who try to allow others to come through.

University lecturer, Tim Wilshire, who has lived in the road for 10 years, has even had one car written off from damage.

"There's been times when people have got out of their cars and squared up to each other," he said.

"There are continual arguments with drivers who refuse to reverse to allow people to pass. The whole thing is getting out of hand and it is only a matter of time before there is a major incident and fist fight.

"Over the years my parked cars have been hit numerous times.

"But recently it's been getting worse - in the past four weeks my cars have been hit five times."

Parking in Martyrs' Field is free for an unlimited time, resulting in it being a popular location for those wanting to escape charges.

The father-of-two, 61, added: "I find it absolutely incredible that the parking is free.

"As it's 400 metres from Canterbury East station, commuters park there all day.

"It's packed full all of the time. It's a nightmare when you meet another driver coming the other way - cars just constantly get hit.

"One of my repairs cost £2,000 and another of my cars had to be written off because the bill was too great.

Mr Wilshire says double lines need to be painted on one side of the street in order to ease the parking congestion.

Council spokesman Rob Davies said: "​We did an extensive survey in the Wincheap area ​about this issue ​last autumn.​ ​The response rate was low and the ​replies were very mixed​,​ so we were not able to make a case for introducing residents' parking​ in Martyr's Field Road.

"As part of this work, we also looked at what vehicles were parked and when. It showed a significant number that were parked there early in the morning, pre-commuter parking, were still there in the middle of the day, so single or double yellow lines would cause additional problems for residents, as they would have to move their cars during the restricted periods."