RESIDENTS stuck in a muddy parking nightmare for decades have pleaded with their councillor to find a solution.

Neighbours in Nobles Close in Botley have been putting up with access problems to their homes for years.

The bungalows have many elderly and disabled residents, but there is not enough parking for everyone who lives on the street and the parking spaces are overgrown and muddy.

Residents are forced to walk through muddy paths to get to their homes, putting many at risk of falling.

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On Saturday, residents met with their Oxfordshire County Council member Judy Roberts at Dean Court Community Centre in Botley to try to find a solution

Ms Roberts has arranged for the paths to be cleared of the mud, but residents want to change the whole layout of the road to improve access.

Ms Roberts, however, explained this could prove difficult as the land has multiple owners.

She said: “When Vale of White Horse District Council handed over the housing and gardens to Sovereign Housing they didn’t hand over all the green space.”

Gill Sullivan, who has lived on the road for 30 years, told the meeting she was born with a spinal condition which left her with mobility problems.

She said: "I was trying to fetch the bins in the week before last and ended up slipping – the path is full of mud and full of holes, it’s a death trap.

"I eventually gave in and turned my front garden into a car park.”

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She added: “Ambulances are getting stuck, it’s just crazy.”

Lucy Wainwright is a home owner on the road mostly owned by housing association Sovereign Housing. She said: “I checked the deeds for my property today and it says I can’t park on my front garden, I can’t drive over shared spaces or green spaces, but all of that is irrelevant because it has been happening for so long.”

Diana Gill said: “The mud is just absolutely horrific. I was on crutches last year and I couldn’t go out of the house because the crutches would just go from me.”

Vale of White Horse District Council said: “We own some of the open space and are aware of the parking issues in Nobles Close.

"We have been working with Sovereign Housing, who own the majority of the properties in the close to find a suitable solution.”