SOUTHBOURNE residents have warned ‘someone is going to be badly injured’ after a spate of illegal parking over the weekend.

Residents reported cars parked on verges, illegal parking on pavements and full car parks as visitors flocked to Dorset’s beaches.

Southbourne resident, Clive Barnett, said: “It is already clear that traffic is chaos and BCP are doing their best but this past few days they are parked all over the pavements, yellow lines and car park approaches.

“It is chaos and someone is going to be badly injured as vision is reduced and car drivers are angry as they can’t park, with many sounds of car horns venting the frustrations and occasional screeching brakes and near misses.”

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Southbourne Crossroads resident, Francis Owtram, said: “On the first day of the peak of the heatwave this weekend, we have photos of the parking round our area – cars parked on verges, illegal parking on pavements on the approach to Warren Edge car park, car park full at 10am and cars having to exit and circle the area.

“With the hotter and drier summers more and more people will want to come to Southbourne (and indeed all the beaches of BCP area) – the SoBo Beach venue is thriving and attracting more and more people to come to Southbourne Crossroads and local businesses have to make hay while the sun shines.”

Southbourne Crossroads residents are campaigning to make people aware of the importance of their local car park, as developers have submitted plans to build a block of flats on it.

Bournemouth Echo:

Residents in other areas of BCP also reported parking issues over the weekend. Cars were parked ‘bumper to bumper’ along both sides of Manor Road on the East Cliff.

Resident Geoff Waldman said: “Parking was all the way along Manor Road, it looks absolutely disgusting.

He added: “The cars were bumper to bumper in both directions as far as you could see.

“How many of those have parking tickets, we don't know. We get this every year, year in year out, the council said this year in the Echo that they're bringing in extra resources to combat this but it was all talk of nothing.

“There is no way that a fire engine or an ambulance would get through that lot, no way at all, the way they were parked on both sides of the road.

“There was one person parked right across a zig zag. It’s a joke, I think they get a fine for £60 or £70 and if you pay it within 28 days, it's half the price. Some of those people have said well it's cheap parking for the day.”