THERE has been strong reaction to news a pavement parking ban could be introduced to help pedestrians, the Department for Transport announced.

The Advertiser recently reported that the Government will decide whether to give local authorities more power to tackle the problem.

Parking on pavements is banned in London but elsewhere in the UK it is a grey area.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Vehicles parked on the pavement can cause very real difficulties for many pedestrians.

"That's why I am taking action to make pavements safer and I will be launching a consultation to find a long-term solution for this complex issue. This will look at a variety of options - including giving local authorities extended powers to crack down on this behaviour."

Parking on pavements is a source of contention in Redditch and Alcester.

Lots of readers got in touch about the move, with most welcoming a ban but admitting enforcing it could be a problem.

Charles Jordan said: "A complete ban would be difficult because of narrow roads on some estates. But it should be considered.

"I've seen bad pavement parking all over Catshill. At school times there are vans parked on pavements for hundreds of school children to get past, people blocking pavements for no reason apart from laziness, and bad habits.

"So a ban would help the disabled, the blind, and people with pushchairs, especially the double ones, dog walkers struggle past these vehicles if they’ve more than one dog.

"It would take the police and traffic wardens a few nights to book continual offenders and the problem would soon go away once the word got around."

Anthony Bartlam said: "Up until recently thought it was illegal to park on the pavement anyway.

"Years ago it was seen as illegal because I remember family members talking about instances whereby drivers where waking up in the morning to find parking tickets on there windscreen due to the fact they had parked on the pavement overnight.

"It is about time this practice was stamped out all over, not just in certain areas."

Tony Jones said: "Parking enforcement in the Redditch area is already a joke. They can't enforce illegal parking on single or double yellow lines effectively, so how is this additional legislation going to be enforced?"

The parking ban announcement is in response to a report by the Commons' Transport Select Committee in September last year which called for a blanket nationwide ban on the "blight" of parking on pavements.

Witnesses told MPs that the worst cases of pavement parking were effectively trapping disabled, elderly and vulnerable people, making them "afraid to leave their homes".