A family-run secondhand car business claim they will be forced to close if plans to extend a double-red line zone across the front of their garage go ahead.

Kent Carriage Company, in Pomeroy Street, New Cross, sells used cars and offers mechanic services.

This is the second time Transport for London has proposed extending the red lines across the front of the business which would mean that cars cannot stop at any time, on any day of the year.

Louis Houston, 24, Woodlands Road, Chislehurst, who runs the company with his father Paul and whose grandfather established the business in 1957, said: “It would be the end of us really.

“I wouldn’t be able to get on and off the site without getting a ticket, no one would be able to pull up.

“If someone can’t just pull up they aren’t going to buy a car.

“Pretty much every sale is people just being able to pop in, having those two parking spaces is everything.”

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Paul and Louis Houston say the extension of the lines will damage their business.

TFL will hold a consultation period about the plans but Mr Houston is concerned if the plans go ahead the business will be forced to close and people will be without jobs.

He said: “They don’t care that we have a single mum here that depends on this business, or that we employ ten workers”

An online petition to fight the decision has 485 signatures, nearly hitting their target of 500.

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One supporter wrote: “As a member of the car sales trade I know how important parking is at a dealership. If customers can't park, they leave and go somewhere else. Simple as that.”

Another said: “I have been using this trustworthy company for many years, and I want to protect its future.”

Nigel Hardy, Head of Sponsorship, Surface Transport at TfL, said: "No decision has been made on proposed changes at this junction.

"We've been engaging with Kent Carriage Company for some time and we will hold a consultation into proposed safety improvements later this year."