I don't spend a lot of time on social media but I do follow the Twitter and Facebook musings of various police units across the area.

And I've noticed recently an increase in police activity dealing with drivers who park (badly) on pavements.

(Interestingly there is a story on the Guardian's website about how parking on pavements could soon be banned and land you with a £70 fine.)

As the law stands at the moment, the only place in the country where it's illegal to park on the pavement is London. In the rest of the country, you can bump your car up quite happily – and legally.

But there is a caveat here. You are not allowed to block the pavement and as a result cause an obstruction for pedestrians.

I wish someone would tell that to the inconsiderate drivers on my estate.

I can barely squeeze past some of the cars, forcing me to walk on the road. While that's not OK for me, it's so much worse for mums with pushchairs or for wheelchair users.

For them it's downright dangerous.

But hopefully this may be a vexatious issue that soon has a solution.

According to the report on the Guardian's website, the government’s transport committee says there has been a ‘lack of progress’ on the problem and said there are growing calls to put a stop to drivers parking with their wheels over the kerb.

The group is now calling for evidence and once the inquiry is completed, there is a chance that pavement parking could be banned – as it is in London – with drivers facing a fine of £70.

Committee chairman MP Lilian Greenwood said: “This is an area where some people’s actions cause real difficulties for others.

"Parking on pavements risks the safety of all groups of people from the littlest to the oldest, with differing needs.

"We want to hear from the public about the difficulties this presents and the solutions on offer.”

The committee's report said: “For those with visual difficulties, who use mobility aids, or need to navigate footpaths with children, unpredictable hazards such as cars represent a potential danger.”

All of that is pretty self-evident, I would have thought.

And the transport committee is calling for written evidence about:

  • The impact of pavement parking;
  • The enforcement of pavement parking offences
  • Enforcement and, if necessary, reform of traffic regulation orders need to deal with pavement parking

You've got until the middle of may if you want to submit your evidence in writing.

Frankly, I don't think this is a problem that's likely to go away.

Many of the issues are historic. Roads designed and built for the horse and cart era can't really cope with three-car families.

But I would make a plea to home builders (and council planning departments) to actually live in the real world – make roads on new estates wide enough to accommodate 21st century traffic and ensure there is adequate off-street parking for new builds.

ON a different topic, huge congratulations to Northwich woman Gina Martin who finally saw her campaign to make 'upskirting' pass into law on Friday.

The law came into force following the high-profile campaign led by 27-year-old Gina, who spent 18 months fighting to make the sleazy craze a specific offence after two men took a picture up her skirt at a festival in 2017.

Gina, who worked with lawyer Ryan Whelan to lobby Government, said: "During the 18 months of campaigning undertaken, I received hundreds of messages and stories from those who had been upskirted.

"It was obvious that we didn't have the tools to adequately paint a picture of what a big problem upskirting is.

"The fact that reports are increasing shows that victims feel more empowered and emboldened to report what has happened to them than before the campaign, which is wonderful – this was just as important to Ryan Whelan and I as the law change.

"We hope that people continue to feel comfortable reporting upskirting under the new Voyeurism Act."

Gina's campaign hit the headlines when a bill to make upskirting a specific criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison was blocked in the House of Commons after a single Conservative MP objected to it.

The bill outlawing the taking of surreptitious, sexually intrusive images was put forward by the Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse after Gina's campaign.

As a private member’s bill it would normally have little chance of becoming law but it subsequently received government backing – until a single objection from Tory MP Christopher Chope stopped it in its tracks and forced a delay in it becoming law.

Why did he do that? Sometimes you just have to shake your head in disappointment.