An innovative scheme designed to cash in on the central London congestion charge, which began last Monday, has been created by a Chigwell entrepreneur.

Jonathan Worth, 29, from Chigwell, is the brains behind www.aparkingspace, an online service to provide motorists eager to beat the congestion

charge with a safe place to park outside the zone courtesy of homeowners who rent their drives.

The controversial anticongestion scheme pioneered by London Mayor Ken Livingstone is an attempt to cure the jams that are bringing London to a grinding halt.

It means drivers wanting to pass through central London between 7am and 6.30pm on weekdays are having to pay £5.

Every available media source has been running regular advertisements about congestion charging in recent weeks to educate the public about its implications, routes and costs. In some cases Jonathan's service could save

motorists hundreds of pounds a year.

He said: "We've noticed that now spaces are being advertised as 'just outside the zone'. We're getting between ten and 20 people renting their spaces every day at the moment.

"In January when awareness of the congestion charge began to increase, we noticed that 500 more searches were being made than usual, predominantly by people hunting for spaces outside the zone.

"Over the last week as the congestion charge advertising has increased, we've had 554 space searches made as opposed to 249 at the end of January."

If you rent a parking spot through www.aparkingspace.com then different areas will mean different costs.

For example, a spot in Hornsey Road, near Finsbury Park tube station in north London costs only £95 a month but just two miles across town in Islington, a parking space will set you back £800 a month.

Docklands parking spaces in places like Wapping are very popular as are ones near Regent's Park and in Fulham Road.

However astute local councils that control parking charges just outside the congestion zone have already raised their fees in readiness for a huge rise in demand.

Jonathan said: "Councils on the fringe of the zone are putting their parking charges up ostensibly to ensure that parking is not strained just outside the zone.

"We think people have reconciled themselves to having to pay to avoid the charge and they seem much happier to pay individuals for their parking spaces rather than be exploited by London's councils."

-From The Wanstead and Woodford Guardian