A head teacher has been forced to go on parking patrols after parents repeatedly drive up grass verges and onto a shared green at pick up time.

Residents in Greenway in Barming who share their street with West Borough Primary School say twice a day they have a battle with 'inconsiderate parents' who also block their driveways, park across pavements and spoil the grass their children play on.

Fed up with the 'unbearable' situation, residents are calling for parents to be more considerate when visiting the school and to keep their drives clear.

Dominic Magner, 52, who has lived in Greenway for more than 20 years said: "It has become a bit of a nightmare. It ruins the grass and there are so many tyre tracks.

"We understand there is bound to be congestion but some people don't seem to care about the trouble caused because they don't live here.

"It hasn't always been like this. About 15 years ago the entrance was along Tonbridge Road but then it was moved.

"Before it wasn't like this at all but it has still got worse over the years."

The school has tried to step in to help, despite it happening off school property, by holding meetings and sending out letters home but residents say nothing has changed.

Sophia Chung, 64, said: "This is my daughter's house but I've seen at school times it is a real pain.

"The parents need to park somewhere so I understand why they do it on the green, but often the drive gets blocked and we can't get in or out.

"It would just be nice if some people were a bit more considerate."

Carol Fidler who has also lived there for more than 20 years said it has become so bad, her car has even been hit.

The 61-year-old added: "They did leave a note and this parent was apologetic but it just goes to show how unbearable it can be.

"Sometimes when I'm out, I think I better get home quickly before school ends or I'll be stuck for 20 minutes."

Some residents hope a solution can be found and have been talking to the land owner, Golding Homes, to try and find an option that suits everybody's needs.

Annemarie Roberts, Operations Director of Golding Homes said: “We are talking to our customers about possible solutions such as tree planting or borders to prevent parking in this area.

"We know this is a particular problem at pick up and drop off times and so will be talking to West Borough School, to see if we can work together to resolve this for the good of both their pupils and local residents.”

Some residents say they would love to see the grass fenced off while others say it will simply make congestion worse.

Greg Fayers, 43, said: "I'm very rarely home when it does happen but I'm off this week and yesterday I tried to get on my drive and it was an absolute nightmare.

"If the grass was fenced off it probably wouldn't help because the road would just be blocked up even more. At least when they are up there some of them are out the way."

Neighbour Maggie Ward, 69, says: "I think the only solution is for people to be more considerate and unfortunately I don't think that will happen.

"Anyone who lives by a school will probably tell you they have the same problem and I think more people need to start walking with their children."

The head teacher of West Borough Primary School says she is doing all she can to help.

Ashley Crittenden said: “We have every sympathy with those residents who are inconvenienced by this inconsiderate parking by a small minority of our parents.

“We have done all we can to impress upon them the importance of parking responsibly and encouraging as many as possible to walk their children to school instead of driving.

“We have addressed the problem in school newsletters and had a special assembly in which we encouraged our pupils to raise these issues with their parents, especially parking on the green which is a popular play area.

“I also stood outside in the rain one day last week, approaching parents who were intent on parking on the green or across private driveways. Most of them understood our concerns but it has not had the desired effect.

“We have previously discussed the problem with our local PCSOs, but they were unable to assist.”

Until a solution can be found, residents are asking parents to think about how and where they leave their cars.

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