NEW powers to tackle poor parking could soon be on their way.

Lancashire County Council is considering a proposal to adopt new rules to deter drivers from blocking roads and pavements.

Under changes, traffic officers would be able to issue penalties of up to £70 to drivers of vehicles parked on dropped kerbs and to those which obstruct roads and traffic by parking more than 50cm away from the kerb.

It is hoped new powers would help pedestrians, especially wheelchair users and those with powered mobility vehicles or prams.

Paul Riley, Lancashire park-ing services manager, said: “Poor parking causes considerable inconvenience for other road users and people trying to cross the road, especially if they need to use a dropped kerb which happens to be blocked by an inconsiderate driver.

“The government has recognised this problem by creating new powers which councils have been encouraged to adopt, and we're now looking at enforcing these new parking rules in Lancashire.”

Disabled access campaigner Ruth Bell of Darwen said: “Something definitely needs to be done about people parking on dropped kerbs, it is a real problem.

“But if this proposal goes through, I doubt it would work.

"I think it would be very difficult to police because of the amount of incidents that occur.”

A decision on whether to adopt the new rules will be taken by County Councillor Tim Ashton, cabinet member for highways and transport, on Friday, August 5.