RESIDENTS are calling for measures to make parking safer outside their homes after a car hit one parked car and damaged others in an accident in Tavistock.

The crash damaged four cars on Sunday night, near the bottom of Callington Road hill, and has been reported to police who attended.

The car stopped and the driver got out after hitting parked cars outside owners’ terraced homes. The driver told residents he was not hurt.

Residents say their parked cars are frequently damaged by traffic hitting them or scraping them on the left side as they come down the hill, sometimes too fast, before the roundabout junction with Ford Street and Drake Villas

Mandy Ewings, a West Devon borough and Tavistock town councillor, lives on Callington Road had her car damaged by the Sunday crash and said the driver appeared in shock after the incident.

She said: ‘This is not a one-off incident. One of the residents has had three cars written off after being hit when parked outside her home. Also an electic scooter once hit a car. I don’t know what happened in this case, but sometimes people come down here too fast.’

She suggested a speed camera might slow traffic.

Julie Jillians, of Callington Road, said: ‘It’s a constant worry thinking about my car being hit. When I hear a car going especially fast or the squealing of HGVs as they brake, or horns blasting, then I worry they are driving too fast and can’t stop, or it’s too congested and the cars will be hit.

‘We’ve had cars scratched and scraped wing mirrors torn off by traffic going too fast and losing control a bit and getting too close to be able to avoid the parked cars.

‘I do know about the cars being damaged and it doesn’t surprise me. They don’t manage the traffic very well. When the children are walking to Tavistock College, it’s a also a worry that they might be hit. There are flashing lights and a school crossing to slow down traffic, but it isn’t as good as the lollipop crossing they used to have.’

She echoed her neighbours’ concerns about the lack of alternative parking if changes were made: ‘What none of want is for our parking to be taken away. There’s no garages or anywhere because they’re too old to have garages. The last thing we want is double yellow lines or other parking restrictions. There are double yellows across the street, which widens the road and allows us space. Maybe they could have speed humps coming down the hill only, but that could lead to people going round them on the other side, which is also dangerous. Motorbikes in particular go up the hill really fast, so perhaps speed humps on both sides might be a good idea.’

Robert Cook, a painter and decorator, relies on his van for work. He said: ‘I’ve lost a few wing mirrors to traffic getting too close to my van, but most of the time it’s ok. It’s often a problem parking because there’s no where else.

‘But if people do make a fuss about their cars being hit then I’m afraid the council might decide to take away our front gardens to make special parking space for us all, which I wouldn’t like.’