A PERSHORE mother-of-three who is demanding a residents-only parking scheme outside her house says she is prepared to go to court after amassing £800 of parking fines in six months.

Amy Chambers, of Bridge Street, says her life has been made impossible because of workers and visitors to the town who use the free on-street parking outside her house.

"I'm at the end of my tether on this issue," she said. "It's not just inconvenient, it's making my life and the smooth running of my family impossible and miserable.

"I cannot afford these fines and have now taken the stance that I am going to refuse to pay, and am quite willing to stand up in court in my defence on this matter."

Mrs Chambers says the number of parking spaces outside her home has been cut from five to three.

Tony Cooper, traffic engineer for Worcestershire County Council, said double yellow lines had been extended because of a number of collisions nearby.

When Mrs Chambers initially wrote to Wychavon District Council she was advised to buy an annual ticket for either the Abbey Park or Civic Centre car parks.

"Both of them are a brisk ten-minute walk from my home and that is not taking into consideration I might have shopping, school bags and equipment, work tools and three young children in tow," said the landscape designer who drives a Peugeot 206 car on the school run, a Mercedes van for work and whose husband also has a car to accommodate.

Wychavon's parking services department was unwilling to comment on individual cases but said appeals were considered on their individual merits. A spokesman said any fines were sent to the Northampton Traffic Enforcement Centre to be approved and then cases were forwarded to bailiffs.

Mr Cooper said a previous application for residents-only parking, four years ago, was rejected by the town council because it was a mixed residential and commercial area and businesses might be affected.

Any fresh request would again go to the town council. If approved it would go to the county council's highways department for investigation with the police consulted. If no objections were received it would go before the town and county councillors for approval.