Kingsbury neighbours say vehicles mounting the pavement outside their homes to dodge parked cars opposite have left the road unstable and unsafe.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Damage to Peter Hickey's garden in Highcroft, Kingsbury. Picture: Tom ParfreyDamage to Peter Hickey's garden in Highcroft, Kingsbury. Picture: Tom Parfrey (Image: Archant)

Now they’re calling on the council to put double yellow lines in narrow Highcroft so vans and lorries can drive there safely without destroying the footpath.

They say the weight of the vehicles over the course of decades has cracked pavements and forced the fragments into gardens a metre below, damaging fencing.

John Sheehy, a civil engineer who lives in the cul-de-sac, said: “The constant lorries have resulted in an unstable and dangerous pavement with a risk of collaps.”

John has contacted Brent Council several times over the last couple of months. He launched a petition to have double yellow lines extended further up the road so heavy vehicles can get through safely and “return Highcroft to the way it was initially designed in 1935”.

Brent & Kilburn Times: Damage to Peter Hickey's garden in Highcroft, Kingsbury. Picture: Tom ParfreyDamage to Peter Hickey's garden in Highcroft, Kingsbury. Picture: Tom Parfrey (Image: Archant)

He is also concerned about the risk of serious injury to neighbours, one of whom is his mother, saying they could slip on the cracks and loose stone.

His neighbour Peter Hickey, whose garden fence has also been damaged, is worried people will get hurt as the cracks get worse.

He said: “I can no longer go out into my garden. It’s just not safe for me or my mum.”

Construction workers turned up in May and placed concrete in the cracks. But John says until room is made for lorries the damage will continue as they continue to drive over the “fragile area”.

He reckons removing the parking bays on the opposite side of the road will provide more room.

Another major concern for him is the danger to drivers themselves, who he says could lose their grip on the loose stones and crash into a garden below.

A Brent Council spokeswoman said on Tuesday: “We are in touch with both Mr Sheehy and Mr Hickey. We are proposing the introduction of waiting restrictions on this road to prevent obstructive parking and a consultation document is being distributed. Arrangements have also been made with Mr Hickey for a structural engineer to visit his property this afternoon.”