RESIDENTS in Coryton Close, Dawlish, have expressed concern about vehicles parking in the road.
It is fine for cars to park on the right hand side, but if one parks on the left it blocks the road.
In a street of elderly residents, if the emergency services can not access the road then a disaster is just around the corner, residents believe.
Earlier this month, at about 9am, the man responsible for cleaning the road arrived in his wide, sweeping vehicle.
Soon after he had started work a car parked on the left hand side of the road, immediately opposite two cars. The driver appeared to hesitate as he/she could clearly see the road sweeper further along the road near the end of Coryton Close, but the driver left the vehicle.
Meanwhile, the road sweeper, who was moving toward the car, feared that he would not get through the gap between the vehicles. This proved to be so and the machine was trapped. Cars and pick up trucks were able to get through with care, but the cumbersome nature of the sweeper prevented it from doing the same.
The sweeper driver was forced to call the police and gave the registration number. Subsequently, they rang back, informing him that the owner lived in Torbay, but they had been unable to locate the driver.
Police arrived, assessed the situation and later a large truck arrived and took the car away, enabling the sweeper to finish his job.
All of this took one and a half hours to complete and it also took about an hour of the police officers' time.
Phillip and Sheila Sparke, who live in the road, are upset with the lack of parking control on the street and think that something should be done.
They pointed out that every summer the parking of vehicles increases with some detriment to residents. However, that situation has considerably worsened in terms of increased traffic since the introduction of parking fees in the town.
Mr Sparke said that the parked vehicles included:
q Vehicles generated by local businesses, some of the former being of large size.
q Vehicles, for the most part cars, belonging to persons employed in the area.
q Vehicles, primarily cars, belonging to people who live in other parts of the town area but not in Coryton Close.
q Cars occupied by people, mainly ladies, who park there for shopping convenience.
q Other vehicles parked there by holidaymakers.
q Residents cars, and family members who live in nearby towns and villages.
He did not have a problem with most of these, but the most disliked form of parking was that of those who live in other parts of the town and enjoy free parking for days on end.
Only recently there had been a car parked outside his bungalow for several days, but is now to be seen elsewhere on the road. He said that the owner is not alone in the practice.
A spokeman for Devon County Council said that it had been informed of the problem and would be looking into it.