PHANTOM parking tickets may not have made their way to the other side of Bicester but the town’s parking problems are still evident elsewhere, with cars clogging up roads close to the railway station.

Residents in Langford are calling for a quick solution to the long-running battle with drivers parking in Mallards Way, which they say churns up the grass and spoils green spaces.

The number of cars has steadily built up over the past year and now daily lines the residential street off London Road, sparking concerns over safety.

Bicester Town Councillor Dan Sames said the issue is down to ‘inconsiderate drivers’ and it should not take council intervention to find a solution.

He said: “It has been an on-going problem but I think it has been exacerbated more recently by the weather. Cars are now churning up the mud which is one particular problem and people are understandably getting frustrated.”

The town councillor added: “For me the biggest frustration is that it shouldn’t be that the council has to take action, it is obviously not a parking zone and there is no need for people to park there.”

But Mr Sames has committed himself to finding a solution to the problem which residents say has been going on for over a year.

Langford Village Residents Association has said it is causing a lot of anger.

Resident John Broad said: “As Mallards Way at the London Road end is on a slight curve and the parking on both sides of the road narrows this to effectively a single lane, anyone trying to use the road can easily meet someone going the other way as they cannot see them coming due to the parked vehicles.

"The parked vehicles have now destroyed the grass where they park due to the winter weather making the surfaces very wet and the parked vehicles churning the grass into a mud bath.”

Mr Broad said double yellow lines had been proposed previously to resolve the problem but fears this could just push the problem into nearby roads such as Sanderling Close, which is already experiencing similar problems with green spaces.

Proposals put forward for Mallards Way include parking restrictions as well as a fence to prevent people parking up and walking into town.

Councillor Sames said as the process for Oxfordshire County Council to implement double yellow lines takes time, he hopes to get something done sooner.

He said: “The county council will still be looking at putting in yellow lines with a consultation due between now and May.

“But it would be good to get something in before then, looking at the idea of fencing and the possibility of match funding from the town council – but that would need to be consulted on.

“At this stage we don’t know what the best solution is but whatever it is needs to best way to solve the problem whilst being cost effective.”