A gym boss has lost more than a third of his members in just four months amid parking chaos on nearby streets.

Darren Fuller, owner of the Fuller Life Gym in Elizabeth Street, Dover, says frustrated customers have been left with nowhere to leave their cars.

It comes as on-street spaces are being swamped with other vehicles, with some drivers even leaving them on the paved area of a roundabout or on tiny gaps of waste ground.

Mr Fuller believes these cars are mainly being left by people working for the Home Office who he says lost their spaces at the Western Docks at the turn of April and May.

Since May, membership numbers at his gym have plummeted from 153 to 93.

Mr Fuller told KentOnline: “Parking has been abused. Even in the two-hour limit bays cars have been left for eight to 10 hours.

“We have lost customers because they have nowhere to park. Most gyms have far more spaces than us so this really doesn’t help.”

The gym only have three private spaces for customers.

Mr Fuller says Dover District Council originally helped by putting in the two-hour time limits before May and he has now raised the present problem with them.

His comments are echoed by neighbouring businessman Ian Walton, of the customs clearance firm EV Cargo: Global Forwarding.

He said: “The roundabout at Elizabeth Street is completely packed and the flyover is also full.

“Only four of us in my firm have cars but when it’s really busy you can’t park at all.

“One day I had to drive back home and walk back in because there were absolutely no spaces.“

A DDC spokesperson said its officers have visited the area 23 times since the start of August and issued 23 penalty charge notices.

They added: “Our parking enforcement officers regularly visit Elizabeth Street to ensure drivers are adhering to the parking restrictions.

“There is a small area limited to two hours free parking, with no return for four hours, between 8am and 6pm, and areas covered by double yellow line restrictions where parking is prohibited at any time.”

KentOnline reported in earlier this year how the Home Office had applied for 60 new parking spaces on nearby vacant land for immigration staff dealing with asylum seekers.

A letter to DDC from applicant agents Cushman and Wakefield said due to “insufficient” parking space, staff were leaving their cars on-street along Channel View Road.

“It is understood that the current parking arrangements are impacting other local businesses in the area,” it added.

Planning permission was granted in June.

A Home Office spokesperson now said: “We value our relationship with our neighbours in Dover and have contacted our contractors and staff, encouraging them to use alternative parking options.”