A Conservative councillor for Dartford has said the council will begin enforcing parents parking illegally on pavements during the school run.

Paul Richards, whose son attends Oakfield Academy in Dartford, has complained about the “laziness” of people who park on the pavement on Oakfield Lane.

“There’s free parking a few roads away. It’s people who are not bothering to walk a bit further,” he said.

Mr Richards said people do follow the rules when parking wardens are in the area, but the wardens are not patrolling often enough to make a difference.

He said: “They are supposed to come once or twice a week.

“I haven’t seen them in a couple of months.”

He has called for wardens to be placed in the area more often and for more yellow lines on the roads to deter people from blocking the streets and the pavements.

Conservative councillor Rebecca Storey said she plans to take action to stop parents abusing the system.

“We will be sending a car to monitor when school comes out every so often,” she said.

“The car will have a camera on it and will be able to spot people who are doing this.”

She added people will be fined if they are caught parking on the pavement.

Labour Councillor for Dartford, Joshua Jones, told News Shopper: “The reason parents do this is because they can get away with it.”

He also admitted there is a lack of parking officers in the borough, and that yellow lines would not be a strong enough deterrent.

“I think we have about half a dozen enforcement officers across the whole borough.

“People in Dartford know that even if we have yellow lines, they are simply not enforced.”