Fed-up town clerk paints his own yellow lines to stop dangerous parkers in Devon

A town clerk says he has decided to take matters into his own hands by painting double yellow lines to stop poor parking.

South Molton's town clerk Andrew Coates said people were fed up with waiting for contractors to complete the line painting at Mole Ridge Way, near North Road.

Mr Coates said he has been campaigning for the lines for more than 18 months as people often park on the corner and cause a hazard, especially during school drop-offs and pick-ups.

So Mr Coates was delighted when workers painted the lines - but he noticed they had left a gap where a car had been parked.

He said: “They came and did it but forgot a bit. Looking at how it’s been done, it appears a car was parked here, and obviously, they couldn’t do the other yellow line, so I’m taking it upon myself to do the other line so that people don’t park here. People have been parking here thinking they can get away with it, so hopefully, it’ll stop that.”

He said: “We probably shouldn’t be doing it, but I think it’s just got to be done. I don’t think there’s any harm in doing it, and it’s not worth waiting for.

"Since the residents are getting concerned, I thought we’d come along and do it ourselves.”

He was joined by Councillor Jacqui Footman, the mayor of South Molton, who helped with the painting.

She said: “I think it’s great that we can do this for our community. We are here, and we can get on with this, and it just makes sense. In these times, we’ve just got to all work together and do what we can.”

After completing the line painting, Mr Coates said he was very happy with the result. He said: “I think it’s done well. It’s not wonky at all.”