Residents in Morden were treated to an early Christmas present from Merton Council this year in the form of £110 in parking fines each (not gift-wrapped).

According to neighbours, at 8.06am on December 23, two parking officers arrived on mopeds and slapped parking fines on their cars, which were parked partly on the grass in Neath and Netley Gardens.

Derek Barker, of Neath Gardens, said it’s necessary to park on the grass verge because the road is too narrow.

He said: “We live in a Cul de Sac and it has a circle in the middle, you can’t actually get vehicles around it.

“I rang up the council once to say that in an emergency it’s very dangerous because ambulances and fire engines can’t get through."

Wimbledon Times:

Mr Barker said his family’s cars have all been hit by delivery vans who can’t squeeze through the gap and drive off without leaving a note.

The last time this happened, Mr Barker said he had to cough up £1,500 in repairs. His wife’s current car has already been hit twice, so why not park further away?

Mr Barker said: “I’m not going to expect to my wife to come home at 10 o’clock at night and park three streets away, that’s not safe. We should be able to park where we live.”

Ideally, he said, the road would be widened, but the council told him it’s protected green space and important for absorbing rainfall.

Mr Barker said: “Half of the green is gone anyway, people just use it to dump litter. They say it’s for drainage, but that’s what drains are for.”

Wimbledon Times:

The family has lived in Neath Gardens for nearly twenty years, and have never seen a parking officer in the area before.

“Why now, why two days before Christmas? It’s so distasteful,” said Mr Barker.

Councillor Ross Garrod, Merton Council cabinet member for street cleanliness and parking, said: “We take a firm but fair approach to enforcing parking contraventions.

“There are a number of roads in the borough where we do not issue PCNs to drivers who park partly on the pavement.

“This is to allow emergency vehicles and refuse trucks to drive down the road. However, parking on grass verges isn’t permitted across the borough because of the damage it causes.

“In this particular area, where there are no controlled parking zones, vehicle owners are able to park in adjacent streets to avoid parking on the verges.”