POLICE have pledged a crackdown on illegally parked cars causing chaos in a Gwent town.

Motorists parking on double yellow lines are blocking The Square, Cefn Fforest and stopping a local bus company from getting through.

Now Blackwood police say they will fine illegal parkers who cause obstructions. Double yellow lines were painted last month in a move to get Islwyn Borough Transport (IBT) buses on their old route but parking restrictions have been ignored, say police.

Islwyn Borough Transport company says it cannot navigate the main route through Cefn Fforest because of the obstructions, and must take a detour through Derwendeg Avenue. Sergeant Simon Clarke, of Blackwood police, said some Derwendeg Avenue residents, fed up with buses using their road, had also been blocking the path of buses with their cars.

But Gwyneth Jenkins, 50, of Derwendeg Avenue, said: "People on this street are having to illegally park their cars on the pavement in order to let the buses through."

Neighbour John Stoate, 54, added: "We think Cefn Fforest has been neglected by the council because if more car parking spaces had been made available then motorists wouldn't have to park on double yellow lines around the shops."

Sergeant Clarke said: "Residents are getting fed up with buses travelling down their road, as are people who are missing buses from traditional stops on The Square. "We are now looking to take a proactive approach and have plans to introduce a fixed penalty fine of £30 for motorists who ignore the double yellow lines."

The police will also patrol the area with a mobile CCTV unit in order to catch illegally parked motorists.

Roger Sims, (pictured) managing director of Islywn Borough Transport, said: "We are trying to get the buses back through The Square but at the moment I'm not prepared to do that if I know full well that I cannot get my buses through. It's a major problem and I fully sympathise with the residents' concerns but they must realise that I have no alternative at present."

Another bus company, Harris Buses, can use the main route through The Square because its vehicles are smaller.