SCHOOL children are at risk of injury due to poor parking on grass verges near a row of shops in Wickford, a councillor has claimed.

Wickford North councillor Peter Holliman has slammed poor parking at Hill Avenue, with both cars and lorries jumping the curb and parking on grass verges.

He raised concerns that visibility at the junction is drastically reduced by poor parking , making it dangerous for nearby Beachamps School pupils.

There are double yellow lines surrounding the grass verge but Mr Holliman claims these are never enforced, with people allowed to flout parking regulations.

He wants to raise the profile of the problem and put pressure on Essex County Council to enforce the double yellows - although Essex County Council failed to respond the Echo’s request for comment.

And nearby residents raised similar concerns.

Michelle Gardner, 54, of Hill Avenue, said: “It can be mayhem around there at times.

“If people started getting tickets it would soon stop, word of mouth would soon have everyone in the area aware that people are getting tickets, then you would find somewhere else to park.”

Bollards surround part of the grass verge, but not fully, allowing residents and shoppers to continue to park on the verge.

Mr Holliman said: “In Hill Avenue, where there is a parade of shops and a mini roundabout, there’s a kerb which although it is marked with double yellow lines, lots of cars and lorries park up on there creating a potentially very dangerous situation.

“But they know they are not going to get a ticket because it is never enforced. They go up onto the verge to park on there and as a result the kerb has become severely damaged.

“There is now a very big dip which must be at least a foot deep and it has become filled with water and rubbish.

“The danger is there’s a parade of shops and pedestrians are regularly using the pavement where lorries and cars are pulling up onto the verge.

“It’s also very near Beauchamps school so there are frequently lots of schoolchildren in the area at risk of being injured. The lorries and cars are also obscuring the view.”

for both pedestrians and other drivers using that junction.”