Council chiefs have called for laws banning pavement parking in London to be rolled out across the country in order to crack down on motorists endangering lives.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said all councils need extra flexibility to introduce bans if needed to free up congested pavements and stop pedestrians being forced onto the road.

The ban on pavement parking has been in place in the capital for 40 years. Under existing measures, motorists are barred from pavement parking unless expressly permitted by a London council.

Outside of the capital local authorities can use existing Traffic Regulation Orders to ban pavement parking on certain roads, but it is a time-consuming, expensive and bureaucratic process.

‘Councils in the capital have been able to ban pavement parking for many years and it seems a nonsense that local authorities outside London remain unable to do this,’ said LGA transport spokesman Cllr Martin Tett.

‘Local authorities need this power to respond to concerns raised by their communities, for example if a street is becoming dangerously congested or pedestrians are being forced to step out into the street to get round parked vehicles.

‘This is particularly dangerous for blind or partially-sighted people and mums and dads with prams.’

Cllr Tett also added repairing kerbs, verges and pavements damaged by pavement parking is expensive and uses up funds that should be invested to plug the country’s £12bn roads repair bill.

‘Councils would carefully consult with communities before banning pavement parking and this is done sparingly in response to concerns which they have raised,’ he continued.

‘This will enable them to better protect vulnerable pedestrians and provide a more consistent approach for all road users.’