CAMPAIGNERS fighting new pay and display machines in a high street have handed in a petition as part of the fight to see the “disgusting” plans scrapped.

Thousands of people were keen to put their name to the petition which would see drivers have to pay to park on High Street, Wanstead, over fears it would ultimately cause the area to deteriorate.

Protestors gathered 1,180 signatures in just over a fortnight after speaking to residents.

Michael and Valerie Powis of the We Want Say campaign, set up to fight the implementation of the parking scheme, delivered the petition to Redbridge Council’s Lynton House on Thursday, September 28.

Protestor Donna Mizzi said the system will have a negative knock-on effect on safety and the environment.

She said: "Encouraging drivers to park for less than half an hour on the high street, to avoid parking charges, is sure to cause traffic delays, pollution, congestion and frequent accidents on our narrow high street, as more drivers pull in and out all day

"It's no good the council saying only 20 per cent bothered to answer the questionnaire. Residents were disgusted not to be asked if they wanted parking to be left as it was.”

Businesses would suffer if controls were imposed, campaigners warned, because visitors would be less likely to frequent cafes and shops.

Campaigners argue that parking on Wanstead High Street can be controlled be introducing two short no parking spells during the day.

Redbridge Council’s consultation, which closed on May 5, proposed a “scaled-down version” of the original plan would be implemented.

The process was deemed controversial because the council originally planned to implement them without any consultation.

The introduction of a pay and display scheme allowing half-an-hour of fee parking was touted, as well as a residents’ parking scheme.

Commuter parking was most commonly identified as the main cause of problems.

A spokesman for Redbridge Council said: “We have received a petition against the introduction of Pay and Display on Wanstead High Street, along with others concerning the proposals for parking controls in the surrounding area, all of which are currently under consideration.”