A resident of Bulford Lane has complained that a dropped kerb parker is making life difficult for people with mobility issues.

David Findlay's partner, Janet Cox, suffers from mobility issues, and as a result makes use of a motorised wheelchair and a self-propelled wheelchair to stay mobile.

However, a cut through from Bulford to Fore Street is found routinely blocked by a motorist who persistently parks their vehicle across a dropped kerb.

Mr Findlay says this means making up to three crossings to access essential services like the doctor's surgeries. He said that attempting to make the crossing in a wheelchair from a raised kerb could result in a 'nosedive'.

The issue has been ongoing for at least two years, and has resulted in relations between Mr Findlay and the motorist becoming heated, he said.

Mr Findlay said: "He was telling me, as he owns the arch, the top kerb is for his exclusive use and he does not have to leave it available to others. He can park there with impunity and that bit of road is his to do as he likes with. He said he had parking tickets and he had them quashed. But it is not about the legalities to me, if you are making other people’s lives difficult you should do something in my book to make them easier. 

"The doctor’s surgery is immediately opposite, what you have to do if you can’t go immediately across is go down the road, across another road and then get across where you can find a crossing, you have to make about three crossings instead of one."

It is understood that the motorist is within his legal rights to park across the dropped kerb. Mr Findlay said the motorist had repeatedly won appeals against parking tickets. A local traffic warden confirmed to the Wellington Weekly that the motorist could legally park in the spot.

However, Mr Findlay complained the parking may be legal, but that it was not neighbourly. He said: "A lot of the people, their coordination is not that good and if they do something regularly they get used to that and can do it. But if they have to do something different it is difficult.

"The dropped kerb is there for the purpose of people coming out of the path to get across the road. But it is basically unusable. I did try to approach the old Taunton council but they never bothered to reply. 

"It is inconvenient. It is annoying that other people don't take into account what effect their actions are having on others With a motorised scooter if Janet drops off the kerb she’s liable to do a nosedive."