YELLOW lines are to be painted in city centre streets to stop "unsafe" parking by drivers trying to avoid paying charges.

Most streets in the centre of Durham have pay and display parking, part of a move to ease congestion and encourage public transport.

People living in The Avenue, Hawthorn Terrace and Atherton Street area rejected the idea of parking charges in a ballot run by Durham County Council.

But the council's highways committee has now approved plans to introduce waiting and loading restrictions.

The council's environment and technical services director, Chris Tunstall, said: "Free parking in these streets has become more attractive for those seeking to avoid parking charges. However, the demand for uncontrolled space has created indiscriminate, unsafe and at times obstructive parking in some streets close to the city centre."

Advertisements of the proposed order to implement the restrictions attracted six objections.

One of the objectors, Roger Cornwell, of The Avenue, said the that preventing parking on both sides of the road would encourage motorists to drive faster.

He said: "To paint double yellow lines isn't necessary and will only encourage traffic to go faster.

"There are problems in The Avenue further down, which they are addressing correctly but in our area it takes away parking spaces and won't address the problem.

"Parking on the street does make cars go more slowly."

He added that if people had to park away from their homes their vehicles could be at greater risk of vandalism.

Mr Tunstall said in his report to councillors that the restrictions, in some parts of The Avenue, would stop parking on both sides of the street, which resulted in vehicles being unable to pass each other.

There had been no injury accidents in the past five years in the street and it did not have a problem with speeding vehicles.

He said: "The intention to introduce waiting restrictions is to permit the highway to be used by all vehicles safely.

"The lack of passing space can result in vehicles needing to reverse the length of the street.

"The present situation is unacceptable for safe use of the highway."