BAD parking that has blighted a Bicester road for years could finally be at an end after double yellows lines were painted.

For more than four years campaigners have fought the 'inconsiderate parking' clogging up Mallards Way and churning up its grass verges in the process.

But in a successful move for campaigners and councillors, yellow lines were painted along the road on Sunday in a bid to prevent commuters and overflow traffic from the nearby business park using it as a car park.

Carole Hetherington, from Langford Village Community Association, said: "We are delighted at long last to see the double yellow lines along Mallards Way.

"Our thanks to councillor Dan Sames who has pushed hard to get this implemented for us.

"We are thankful to see the end of the parking problem that has blighted the road for such a long time.

"Residents can now go about their business without having to dodge badly parked cars and, once the grass verges have been reinstated, the area can once more become the pleasant thoroughfare it was designed to be."

Residents have for years railed against levels of the congestion in the road that links London Road and Langford village.

While overflow car parking from the nearby business park caused a problem, it was made worse after the opening of the revamped Bicester Village train station, as commuters appeared to be taking advantage of the free parking as well.

Oxfordshire county councillor for Bicester south, Dan Sames, has long been fighting for a solution.

He said: "For a long time there has been no protection for the grass verges, there were problems with access for emergency vehicles to get down there and generally people parking inconsiderately.

"It is great the double yellow lines have gone in and hopefully we will start to see some improvement to the area and parking and the damage to the verges will cease.

"It will be a big improvements for residents, but I do hope it doesn't push the problem further out.

"If it does we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

The double yellow lines in Mallards Way are part of a crackdown on parking across the town.

The county council recently approved waiting restrictions in roads including Bucknell Road, Kings Avenue, Bernwood Road, Hunt Close and Rowan Road in June.

The lines in Mallards Way are among the first to be painted.

County council spokesman, Martin Crabtree, said: "This is part of a wider package of work and this particular area is intended to prevent commuter parking.

"Residents have been keen to see the lines installed and we are pleased to have completed the work."

Among those who welcomed the new parking restrictions was Banbury MP Victoria Prentis, who said many constituents had contacted her about the problems in Mallards Way.

Bicester firefighter Peter Mackay also praised the move.

He said: "Access for emergency services is often difficult in this area due to the deliberate restricted road width.

“Whilst we understand the parking issues in the town, getting to incidents safely and quickly is our highest priority."

The new restrictions will be monitored before a review is carried out in six to 12 months time to look at any changes needed.

Traffic action group Bicester TAG co-chairwoman, Rachel Mallows, said: "Illegal and inconsiderate parking can have a significant and detrimental impact on those living nearest and there are several locations across town where similar issues still need to be addressed.

"These are simple problems that our councils and councillors should have tackled long ago, however Bicester faces many more strategic issues caused by Cherwell District Council's expansion programme that lacks investment in infrastructure and has resulted in congestion and illegal air quality."