A van left on the pavement on Marlowe Avenue forcing a blind man to walk in the road has sparked outrage and highlighted the danger caused by bad parking.

The man was spotted gingerly manoeuvring past the van which was across the walkway and on one side of a crossing.

The Can’t Drive, Can’t Park Swindon Facebook group originally posted the images and contacted the Advertiser to say: “Anti-social and inconsiderate parking like this is becoming a common practice not only in Swindon but across the UK.

“In this particular instance, it is a case of laziness on the part of the driver as there is parking on Maitland Road which is not covered by double yellow lines and a car park just 50 yards up the road at the junction of Frobisher Drive.

“Although this type of parking is classed as illegal, as they are obstructing the view down Marlow Avenue from the junction and they have crossed a double yellow line to mount the kerb and block a crossing and pathway, the council are hesitant to respond unless the vehicle is actually parking on white zig-zag or double yellow lines.”

And the parking problem has drawn criticism from the Swindon blind community.

Alan Fletcher, chairman of Swindon Guide Dogs, said it was dangerous.

He said: “I’ve usually got someone with me so I’ll get them to take photos and then we send them to the council and police.

“It’s dangerous for us. If it’s parked on the pavement my guide dog will stop, then we have to walk on the road to get past. It puts us at risk.”

But he was keen to point out that it’s not just blind people that suffer as a result of inconsiderate parking. “People in wheelchairs are vulnerable to this too. They have to go up and down kerbs sometimes where there’s no dropped kerb.

“As well as mums and dads with pushchairs. They all have to go out into the road to get around these vehicles. It’s a major issue and something needs to be done about it. A lot of legislation has been sent to Parliament but a lot of what we’re asking for hasn’t been done because they’re too busy with Brexit.”

A borough council spokesman said: “We are aware of the parking issues on Marlowe Avenue and our wardens have been in regular contact with residents. It can be difficult to enforce parking rules when yellow lines have been eroded, but they will be refreshed in due course.

“We would take this opportunity to remind drivers to park responsibly, as most already do, and to think about pedestrians and other road users.”

Last year we reported the government had recommended a blanket ban on parking on the pavements and readers responded with a flood of photos of bad parking in Swindon.