Residents in a quiet Kingsbridge cul-de-sac are at their wits end after getting parking fines despite the fact their vehicles are in private driveways.

The fines have reputedly been issued to six residents living in a small section of Knowle House Close, where drives are particularly narrow and parked vehicles invade part of the public footpath.

Photos obtained from Google street view also appear to show that cars are too large to fit in garages.

Residents have been so incensed by the fines issued by Devon County Council (DCC) that they have turned to Kingsbridge council for help.

Resident Ben Hunter, who has lived in the street since 2018 and always parked in the same spot, said he was fined for the first time at the beginning of 2023 while his vehicle was parked in the drive.

Although the first one was rescinded after he challenged the penalty charge notice, more have been issued since.

Explaining the problem to councillors at last week’s council meeting, he said: “It’s a very quiet close. We have people who have lived here for a very long time and we’ve never had an issue, but now Devon County Council have started putting parking tickets.”

A neighbour said she had lived at the property for 14 years and never had an issue until now.

A woman, identified as ‘Anne’ in the meeting, said she got a ticket in December just for having a wheel on the footpath.

In response, DCC reportedly instructed residents to move their cars from their driveways between 10am and 4pm, an idea dismissed as “ridiculous” by the exasperated residents, as it would mean having to pay for parking in the town centre.

Mr Hunter added: “It doesn’t make sense for us to have to move our cars daily back and forth and deal with the expense. Some of us have mobility issues – it’s clearly unsustainable and it’s going to make living in the houses a lot more difficult for all of us.”

There are also parking restrictions on Saturdays between 10am and 2pm, although no fines appear to have been issued at weekends.

On hearing their plight, Kingsbridge mayor Philip Cole remarked that it was a case of bureaucracy “gone mad”, given that residents were parking on their own land, and offered to take matters further on their behalf.

South Hams District Council leader Julian Brazil, who was present at the meeting, suggested that DCC may have acted following a complaint from a member of the public.

Explaining DCC’s stance, he said the council had a duty to act under those circumstances but recommended a number of options, such as applying to have traffic restrictions removed.