Andy Adams, 77, who is blind, has hit his face and fallen over due to obstructive vehicles, and he’s far from the only one struggling

Andy Adams said knocking into the obstructive vehicles ‘breaks your confidence'(Image: Nottingham Post/ Joel Moore)

A blind resident of a Nottinghamshire village says he is forced to walk on a busy road and has fallen over due to the number of cars being parked on the pavement.

Obstructive vehicles in Main Street, Papplewick, are causing a multitude of problems for locals; blocking drives, obscuring views and in some cases limiting how far some elderly residents can walk.

People have also raised concerns over a swelling amount of traffic passing through the village in recent years, claiming some speeding drivers “come like bats out of hell”.

Andy Adams, 77, relies on a white cane to safely make his way through Papplewick, but says the device is useless when wing mirrors and flatbed lorries are overhanging the pavement.

He recalled one time he was hit “straight in the face” which knocked him on his back, and others when he was forced into the road.

“It’s quite a shock. You don’t know if it’s a person [hitting you],” he said.

“I’m good on my feet but I’ve been knocked over. It breaks your confidence and your confidence is everything. You have to force yourself to do it again.

“If I can tap on the houses I know where I am. Once they have two wheels on the pavement I have got nowhere to go.

“You never know when you’re going to drop in a pothole and there are a few around here.”

Mr Adams has lived in the village for 15 years(Image: Nottingham Post/ Joel Moore)

Mr Adams moved to Papplewick around 15 years ago, which was around the time he went blind due to a degenerative eye condition.

He said the problem with parked cars had become “much worse” since, blaming it on an increase in the village population and vehicle ownership.

Mr Adams said the parked vehicles had also stopped him from posting talking books for some blind residents who live further into the village, something he has done for years.

“It doesn’t affect me massively until I want to go to the pub or down the road. It just makes it slower and a lot more difficult.”

Jill Tinker, 83, has lived in the village for six decades and says its highways are worse than ever.

“When we first moved here it was cows that stopped the traffic,” she said.

Cars parked on the pavement in Papplewick(Image: Margaret Kerr)

Her 89-year-old husband uses a mobility aid following a severe stroke in 2016 and is unable to make his way down the road because of the cars on the pavement.

“He has to go on the road. It’s dangerous. We don’t come out because we can’t get out. It’s been two years since he’s been down on the pavement,” she said.

“He used to be a great walker, meeting other people. He gets bored to death with me all the time.

“Thank goodness for sports and the TV. It’s not fun getting older.”

Margaret Kerr, who has been spearheading the effort to make authorities aware of the problems, said the increase in pavement parking was due to children staying with their parents for longer and getting cars.

“We’ve desperately been trying to get something done but all the council seem to be interested in is cars. It’s hopeless,” she said.

“What we need is a bypass. It’s getting worse and worse.”

Residents say traffic is the worst they have ever seen(Image: Nottingham Post/ Joel Moore)

Nottinghamshire County Council did not respond to Nottinghamshire Live’s requests for comment.

Ironically, parked cars in the village have become an unlikely friend to residents when it comes to the other burning issue – speeding drivers.

Sylvia Bennett, 77, has seen its disastrous effects up close. Her puppy was killed by a speeding driver two years ago.

“I’d been out for a meal but when I got back she wasn’t home. I saw her sitting in front of a car then she ran into next door’s garden, then into the next one,” she said.

“She darted across the road. There was a car speeding up this way which just missed her.”

Spooked by the near-miss, the dog ran back across the road and was hit by another car, breaking her back and resulting in her needing to be put down.

The driver never stopped.

“The parked cars slow them down a bit but it’s a real problem. Because of this bend they can’t see what’s coming,” said Ms Bennett.

Nigel Seagrave, 66, has lived in the village for 36 years.

“It’s just getting progressively worse and worse. It’s getting horrendous,” he said. “We’re a nice village. We shouldn’t be having this. It’s a rat run.