A CONCERNED mother says she fears medics would be unable to reach her disabled daughter in an emergency because of drivers blocking the road outside her home.

Margaret O'nions, 62, says she is worried that paramedics would be unable to get to her home off Paul's Causeway in Congresbury as the road, and Broad Street which leads to it, is often blocked by parked cars.

Margaret's daughter, Jenna, 30, is severely mentally disabled, finds it difficult to walk and suffers from epilepsy.

The grandmother of two is now calling for parish leaders in the village to consider introducing parking restrictions to help ease the problem.

Mrs O'nions, who lives at Poplar Farm, said: "I'm very concerned that in a situation where we may need an ambulance, or even a fire engine, they would not be able to get down here.

"Jenna is mentally handicapped and cannot walk far as well as suffering from epilepsy. Thankfully we've never needed to call an ambulance, but that is not to say we won't in the future.

"I'm also very concerned that a fire engine wouldn't be able to get down here in an emergency. It's very difficult to get any sort of large vehicle down Paul's Causeway because of cars parked on its junction with Broad Street.

"The problem is far worse in the day, although the road can become quite congested in the evenings. In the past we asked for double yellow lines on the junction of Broad Street to stop people parking there, but this was rejected.

"This is a real problem for the people who live in this area and something needs to be done about it."

The issue of parking on the corner of Broad Street and along Paul's Causeway has caused problems in the past

Often delivery drivers, refuse collectors and draymen trying to get to the Old Inn are forced to turn back because they are unable to get their vehicles along the route.

The situation has become worse after a restriction was put on the car park next to the Ship and Castle pub in the village. Landlady of the pub Helen Thornton was forced to introduce the restriction on parking after people left their cars there for hours while they went shopping or to work, meaning there was not enough spaces for customers.

The parish council has now allocated eight spaces in the car park for villagers. But as the spaces have a time limit of just two hours, many people leave their cars in Broad Street or Paul's Causeway.

Congresbury Parish Council asked North Somerset highways chiefs to consider introducing double yellow lines on the corner of Broad Street several years ago.

But the idea was thrown out after highways bosses said it would be too costly and as it was a dead end, they would not support the idea.

Police have left leaflets on cars asking them to park more considerately. But because there are no official restrictions in place, penalty tickets cannot be issued.

Congresbury Parish Council is due to discuss parking issues at its monthly meeting on Monday night.