WEAVER Vale MP Mike Amesbury has backed calls for a national ban on pavement parking.

The Commons’ transport committee has called for a new law and an awareness campaign on the impact pavement parking has, especially for people with mobility or visual impairments.

The Department for Transport said it had concluded a review into the issue and will announce its next steps ‘in the coming months’.

Labour MP Mike said: “I’ve been contacted by many constituents over the last year who’ve raised real concerns about this issue, many of whom use wheelchairs or who are pushing prams and find they’re unable to simply make their way down the street safely.”

During its five-month inquiry, the transport committee received more than 400 written submissions and spoke to people with visual and mobility impairments, as well as carers and parents, who suffer as a result of pathways being blocked.

Witnesses said pavement parking had trapped the disabled, elderly and vulnerable, making them ‘afraid to leave their homes’.

Criticising the Government on its lack of action on the issue, the report said: “Pavement parking puts pedestrians in danger when they are forced to move into the road to get around a vehicle or where there are trip hazards due to damage to the pavement.”

It also states that people with mobility or visual impairments are disproportionately affected.

Mike added: “If such a ban implemented nationwide it needs to be done in a way that’s not too heavy-handed and drivers should be educated about the impact this kind of parking can have on the elderly and disabled.”

Pavement parking has been outlawed in London since 1974 - with those who flout the rules facing a fine.