Cars parking on a pavement in Chatham are making the roads dangerous, according to local residents.

The wide pavement outside the parade of shops on Ordnance Street is being used as a car park and is forcing pedestrian out on to the road.

Judi Benavente lives on Grovenor Avenue, which is a turning off of Ordnance Street, and she says people have to walk into the middle of the road to get round.

The 49-year-old said: “There are schools on this road and you get streams of children coming down at 3pm and they have to go into the road, it’s dangerous.

“It’s impossible to get past some days. When a buggy, wheel chair or someone with mobility problems comes down there’s no way round.

“If a bus or taxi is parked on the road too then you have to go right out in to the middle.

“I’ve lived here for 26 years and it’s only become a problem over the last 12 months. They are there every day, all the time.

“The council need to stop them parking there or give those who do a ticket.”

A petition has been submitted to the council asking for urgent action to be taken to stop the antisocial parking.

Harinder Singh, Labour spokesman for Chatham Central Ward, said: “There is a lot of anti social parking in the area and residents have noticed and raised this with us.

“They’re blocking the entire pavement so people have to step out into the road and it’s hard to move the buggy on and off the pavement.

“Ideally we’d like to see other solutions for parking made available here in this large space. At the very least we need bollards put on the pavement.”

In November, the council launched a new hotline to report parking problems across the Towns.

People were asked to contact the council by calling 07718 130962 or emailing parkinghotline@medway.gov.uk to report there concerns so officers no where they can target.

Medway Council has been approached for comment on this specific problem.