A bus was forced to squeeze past a Merton Council CCTV van on a busy junction as on-lookers watched on in disbelief.

The traffic enforcement van was parked on the corner of Lambton Road and Worple Road in Raynes Park when it was spotted by members of the public who stopped to look.

It is the latest example of parking madness across the borough which sparked the Wimbledon Guardian’s campaign to highlight this type of behaviour by drivers.

The council said there was no alternative to stopping on the corner and the driver was only there for 75 seconds while they encouraged another driver who had stopped where they should not have, to move.

However My Favourite Things shop owner Julie Donabie said it happens regularly.

She said: "We hate the CCTV vans, they park illegally as you can see on the corner.

"They park on the pavement as well.

"It is money making for the council - they just take pictures and they park dangerously."

Council workers, including traffic wardens, are permitted to ignore normal parking restrictions while carrying out statutory duties.

People gathered on the corner of the road to watch the events unfold on Saturday, May 24, and took several photographs.

On-looker Patrick Steel said: "I looked at the driver and thought ‘what an idiot.’

"There were parking bays next to it - he was waiting to catch people parking on the double yellow lines.

"It’s a bit desperate.

"When the bus came past it was amazing.

"He had to come to a complete halt almost to navigate the corner and squeeze past."

A Merton Council spokesperson said its officers always make every effort to park in places which cause as little obstruction as possible, but on this occasion there was no alternative to stopping ‘briefly and lawfully’ on the corner.

The spokesperson said: "Also, footage shows us that the bus in the photograph was able to drive around the corner unobstructed.

"As part of our firm but fair approach, our parking charter explains what we expect from drivers and what they can expect from us and our enforcement manual is online so drivers can see our enforcement policy."