A PARKING 'nightmare' is becoming a matter of life and death says a resident who fears her neighbours may die if they ever need an ambulance.

Jayne Smith of Eskdale Close, Warndon, has even turned part of her lawn into a driveway as pressure mounts on residents to find a place to park.

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With so many people now owning cars, she says residents from nearby Troutbeck Drive are also using the close to park.

She is calling for an urgent solution and fears people will have 'no chance' in an emergency as ambulance and fire engines would struggle.

The 58-year-old, who was born in the close, said: "It's a nightmare. We're a close of just 14 houses and we have people from Troutbeck parking on the bank at Eskdale.

"God forbid if a fire engine or an ambulance should have to come up here. We have got no chance. The situation has got particularly bad over the last five to six years.

"I have even taken my front lawn up so I can get parked. I've now got a little bit of lawn left but nothing to shout about.

"I think it is a life and death issue for residents. If there's a fire you could lose your life if a fire engine can't get through. I do feel old Warndon gets forgotten about."

Mrs Smith has raised the issue with Worcester City Council and local councillors, including Cllr James Stanley, a Conservative county councillor for Gorse Hill and Warndon and a city councillor for Gorse Hill.

He wrote to Mrs Smith in February, saying he had 'requested an urgent discussion on site with the highways officer'.

Cllr Stanley said, having visited Eskdale Close and other adjoining roads, he understood the level of frustration residents felt.

He said improvements may involve a significant piece of work  and hoped to meet with county council officials next week and bring back firm proposals for residents to consider.

"It's very much an ongoing conversation to secure enough funding to make a meaningful difference to that area.

"I'm in constant conversations with the Highways liaison officer and those people who have responsibility for this. I understand completely the level of frustration they have. I've been there," he said.

In an earlier email to Mrs Smith, he explained he had also been talking to a resident in Troutbeck Drive regarding parking and speeding.

Mrs Smith believes surfacing two grassed areas in Eskdale Close would create around ten spaces.

Another solution, she said, could be to allocate bays for residents of the close.

She said residents were so concerned about the parking issue they had even offered to do the work themselves in terms of resurfacing the grass.

We reported how similar concerns were raised by residents in Amberley Close in Blackpole, Worcester.

They are calling for a small patch of grass to be resurfaced to provide extra parking and a dedicated bay for emergency vehicles. 

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: “We have been made aware of the current parking issues in this area by the local county councillor, and we are working with him to explore how we can improve the situation.”