A controversial scheme to fine parents driving outside schools has seen a new traffic camera chopped down in protest.

The proposal to implement the initiative, School Streets, was first put forward by Medway Council in June.

It involves installing a pedestrian and cycle-only zone on the street around a school at set times during term time to reduce congestion and improve pupils' safety.

The scheme will be enforced later this month via automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras being used to capture vehicles entering a zone without an exemption.

But it appears the idea has not gone down well, with one camera – that was installed at the end of January – pictured laying across a road having been targeted by vandals.

The image was taken in Symons Avenue, Chatham - one of the roads included in the scheme - just a week after KentOnline revealed it would be rolled out near Greenvale Primary on March 11.

Resident Georgina Phillips believes the camera was purposely damaged.

“It’s been taken away now," she told KentOnline. “The camera fell down at about 7pm on Wednesday (February 28), which was quite early really and not exactly in the middle of the night when you expect vandalism to happen.

“My next-door neighbour then asked me if I heard this massive bang outside.

“When I saw it down while taking my daughter to school it looked like a really clear cut, so something like an angle grinder or a really good power tool was used.

“It did take me back a bit seeing it there.”

Posting online, someone else described the cameras as a "blatant invasion" and said councils "should never have been given the power to use ANPR".

Medway Council has been approached for more information regarding the removal of the camera.

Eleven schools were originally considered for the initiative across the Medway Towns, but the local authority has since reduced this to seven.

Alongside Greenvale Primary, the remaining six schools will begin the six-month trial – which could be enforced permanently – on March 11.

It means residents, parents and even school staff will be banned from driving on roads nearby unless they apply for an exemption permit.

Among those to be affected will be newly-retired Lynne Williams, who lives with her husband, Ron, in Walderslade Road, Chatham - less than 200 metres away St Thomas More Catholic Primary.

She says congestion is already so bad, it has led to parents parking on the couple's drive, leaving her concerned the initiative will only escalate the situation.

The 66-year-old explained: "It's an absolute nightmare. The afternoons are especially bad with parents parking an hour before the children finish.

"They park halfway across your drive on both sides, so we can't actually turn left to leave the area.

“We can't get the car off because there's no room and you can't see with them blocking it.

"We have also had parents park actually on our drive before.

"One time my husband came home and saw a woman walking off it from her car, and she told us she was just quickly picking her children up from school."

St Thomas More, which caters for pupils between four and 11, has almost 420 pupils on its books at the site in Bleakwood Road.

The School Street scheme will be in place in the cul-de-sac between 8.15am and 9am and from 2.45pm until 3.30pm on school days.

But Mrs Williams believes the project is only going to heighten already hostile behaviour.

"Some people can get really aggressive and rude, so it’s already a bun fight with hundreds of cars around the school," she added.

"So many just don't care where or how they park, so I'm worried about the knock-on effects this idea is going to have.

"Children and adults having to go into the road because of cars on the pavement is also becoming more common, so it doesn't feel like this has been thought through and is an accident waiting to happen.

"You already have to plan your day now around school pick-up times because of how bad it is."

Carers of vulnerable residents who live within the impacted street, plus teachers, school staff, pupils, parents and carers who are Blue Badge holders can also apply for an exemption.

Emergency vehicles, school buses, utility providers attending emergencies, postal services and waste vehicles are automatically exempt.

Medway Council says the scheme, which will cost £486,418 following funding from the government’s Active Travel Fund, is being rolled out to increase children's safety and encourage healthier lifestyles.

A spokesman for their project team said: "Medway Council is establishing several School Streets across the community to make it safer and more pleasant for pupils to walk, wheel and cycle to and from school.

"The success of School Streets around the country has demonstrated the positive impact they can have on the school community, and we are excited to be introducing the initiative to Medway.

"As well as creating a more pleasant environment for children and parents to walk, wheel and cycle, the programme will also play a key role in reducing congestion and improving air quality outside our school gates."

The parent of one child who attends St Thomas More Primary, and who lives in nearby Sussex Drive, says the scheme needs to be brought in to try and tackle gridlock.

She said: "I'm surprised children haven't been really hurt yet.

"Having witnessed some of the driving down Bleakwood Road, it can be horrific.

"So I am for the change - it's going to increase traffic on my road, but thankfully it is a very long, wide road.

"My hope is more people will have to walk now and use their legs, which should reduce the number of cars right by the school and all the unsafe maneuvering there."

One of the other seven schools to implement the scheme in Medway will be St Mary's Catholic Primary in Gillingham.

The school's home in Greenfield Road means it is another cul-de-sac to be affected.

Resident Alexander Young said: "All we're doing is pushing a problem down the road - it's like kicking a can.

"Is it going to create a problem in [nearby] Railway Street?

"You create and deal with a problem here, but then it creates a problem somewhere else."

Councillor Gary Hackwell (Con) believes a trial needs to be carried out in some way in a bid to address the problem across the district.

Cllr Hackwell, who represents Rainham South East, explained: "What's happening outside many schools is an inconvenience for residents.

"Although I'm not sure this will change parents' behaviour - it will instead move them further afield.

"There's the issue of deliveries being delayed too if drivers decide to turn away and come back at another time.

"It's also going to affect if you're having something like your boiler fixed early in the morning.

"But a system has to be trialled when many of these roads are so chaotic."

Anyone who breaks the rules in the first six months will receive a warning through the post. When six months is up, if they do so again they will be fined.

The charge will be £70, but reduced by 50% to £35 if paid within 21 days.

People can apply for an exemption using the Medway Council permit system here.

The seven areas where School Streets will be put in place are:

Burnt Oak Primary School: Cornwall Road, Gillingham, Greenvale Primary School: Symons Avenue, Chatham, Miers Court Primary School: Silverspot Close, Rainham, Phoenix Primary School: Glencoe Road, Chatham St Mary's Catholic Primary School: Greenfield Road, Gillingham, St Peter's Infant School: Holcombe Road, Rochester, St Thomas More Catholic Primary School: Bleakwood Road, Walderslade