A FRUSTRATED resident has accused motorists of breaking the law as after the grass verges on his road continue to be churned up.

Retired Alan Haigh, of Bernstein Road, Brighton Hill, has hit out at drivers who park their vehicles up on the side of the road, leaving damaged greenery.

The 63-year-old also blasted Hampshire County Council (HCC) and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) for not enforcing penalties on the responsible motorists.

Mr Haigh believes drivers are breaking Section 145 of the Highway Code which says drivers “must not drive on or over a pavement, footpath or bridleway except to gain lawful access to property, or in the case of an emergency”.

When raising his concerns with both HCC and BDBC, Mr Haigh has been left frustrated at being made to “ping-pong” between the two to get an answer to his complaints.

“Their attitude is ridiculous,” Mr Haigh said.

“It’s an awkward road at any rate but having these drivers up on it makes it difficult for drivers to get by. 

“With winter coming and rainwater dropping down from it on to the road it makes it a massive hazard.”

Mr Haigh hopes a fence can be erected along the side of the road in a bid to stop residents parking on the grass.

HCC’s executive member for environment and transport, Cllr Rob Humby, said: “I would ask people to always be considerate. In this instance, however, our records show this specific area is not public highway and so I’m afraid HCC has no authority over the land. Land Registry documents show the land belongs to BDBC.”

BDBC’s Cllr Simon Bound said: “Council parking attendants can only issue a penalty notice to a car parked on a grass verge if there are yellow lines on the road next to it. This isn’t the case in Bernstein Road. We would ask people to park vehicles considerately and while parking on verges isn’t ideal, it may be a better alternative if parking on the road would block access to roads through residential estates.”