IVYBRIDGE councillor Tom Bowden has called on lawmakers to ban parking on pavements, saying commuters who work in the town are to blame for most of the obstruction.

Cllr Bowden, who lives on the Paddock estate and represents Ivybridge's central ward, is supporting a Bill currently going through Parliament that seeks to clarify the law.

He described the number of cars parked on pavements in the town as 'a nightmare', and says they cause problems for parents, the elderly and people, like him, who have mobility problems.

Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham Martin Horwood is sponsoring a Private Member's Bill that aims 'to make provision for the safety, convenience and free movement on pavements of disabled people, older people, people accompanying young children, and other pavement users', and 'to clarify, strengthen and simplify the law relating to parking on pavements'.

Cllr Bowden said pavement parking was a major problem in Ivybridge and while prohibited under the highway code, it is not law – just guidance.

He said: 'It's an issue that needs to be addressed – it needs to be made illegal.'

'In my case, I'm disabled. I've got osteo-arthritis in my knees and spine, and it makes walking very difficult; I use a four-wheeled walker.

'It annoys me considerably when people who are able-bodied come in to work in the town, park on pavements, and obstruct them so that you have to walk in the road.

'In the Paddock and Greenfield area in particular, people who don't live here come to work and park inconsiderately.

'It's a problem in all the estates around town.'

For more on this story, see this week's Ivybridge & South Brent Gazette