FURIOUS car owners staged an early-morning street protest after parking wardens issued a series of penalty tickets.

Residents in Chapman Road, Belvedere, say the pavement parking bays marked out in the street do not allow enough room for large vehicles to get through.

So every Friday, they parked their cars further onto the pavement, so refuse collectors could drive the dustcart along the road to empty their bins.

But following a series of Friday morning parking tickets, the car owners parked legally to see what would happen.

As a result the refuse lorry could not get into the street and binmen refused to walk its length to collect and empty their rubbish bins.

Food deliveries and other large vehicles heading for the Smerdon Resource Centre for people with mental disabilities at the end of the road were also turned away.

Now Bexley Council has conceded some of the bays are not big enough.

Swarn Brar, 40, an IT teacher who has lived in Chapman Road for 36 years, led the protest.

She also contacted the fire brigade to raise her concern fire engines would not be able to get through in an emergency if cars were parked properly.

Miss Brar said residents decided to stage a protest after getting nowhere with the council.

Ward councillor Daniel Francis was approached by residents and visited the street with council officers to see the problems for themselves.

He is also investigating whether the road was deliberately targeted by parking wardens.

Bexley Council has now agreed to enlarge some of the parking bays at the start of the road.

But a spokesman warned if the situation did not improve, the council would consider putting in yellow lines to prevent all parking.

He added: "It has always been the council's policy to prosecute people who park illegally."