RESIDENTS who claim parking restrictions have turned their estate into a car park are threatening to block off roads until something is done.

After Newham Council introduced permit parking in Forest Gate in January, the stretch of Centre Road that runs through Wanstead Flats was completely full of parked cars.

Neighbours on the Redbridge side of the flats claimed Newham residents were dodging the cost of a parking permit by leaving their cars there – sometimes for weeks on end.

But when anti-social behaviour like fly-tipping, drug-dealing, and prostitution started cropping up as well, residents demanded Redbridge take action.

At the end of July the council painted double yellow lines along Centre and Lake House Road to “alleviate” the problem – but residents on Wanstead’s Lake House estate say all it has done is pushed it onto their doorstep.

Roderick Milroy, who has lived in Richmond Way for 40 years, said: “Until now we’ve had no parking problems whatsoever.

“But now our area has been turned into one massive car park with cars dumped and parked over driveways for weeks.”

Waltham Forest Council has also recently introduced parking permits in Leytonstone, which Mr Milroy’s neighbours say is making things even worse.

Edith Philipsen has lived in Lake House Road for eight years and is calling on her neighbours to demand Redbridge give them permits so they can park near their homes again.

She said: “It’s really stressful. You come back home after a long day at work and you can’t park anywhere.

“We’re not near a Tube, we’re just surrounded by fields, so if we can’t park in the street we can’t park anywhere.

“We weren’t consulted about any of this at all.”

Neighbours also claim a lot of the cars are uninsured, with no tax and MOT, and have been left taking up their parking spaces for as long as five weeks.

John Ker, of Blake Hall Crescent, said: “You can’t take your car out, because as soon as you do, you’ll have nowhere to park it again.

“If they don’t do anything about it we’ll take action ourselves. We’ll block off the estate until someone listens to us.”

Mr Ker added that parking issues could have serious implications for Aldersbrook Tennis Club and the numerous football clubs that play on Wanstead Flats.

He said: “We shouldn’t have to pay to park in our own street but it’s our only option.

“If no one can park to use the tennis club, they might have to close it.”

His neighbour in Lake House Road Is Rehel added: "Sooner or later there’s going to be a confrontation - it's very dangerous.

“People get very angry when you ask them why they’ve parked there.”

A Redbridge Council spokesman said they are “looking at what action to take” to sort out parking problems on the estate.

They said: “The problems experienced in Centre Road and now in Lake house Road are a direct result of the parking controls introduced by Newham and Waltham Forest Councils."

A Newham spokesman said they have "always informed" Redbridge of any parking changes and is offering assistance to deal with ongoing problems.

Waltham Forest's Cllr Clyde Loakes, deputy leader and lead member for the environment, said: “As the parking issue mentioned is impacting residents living in Redbridge, it will be for Redbridge Council to decide on the best course of action to respond to and address their residents’ concerns.”