A CAMPAIGNER battling against obstructive deliveries to Tesco in St Margarets has threatened to lie down in the loading bay if nothing is done about the constant abuses'.

Controversy has surrounded the delivery and loading times outside the shop for many months and now Superdrug has opened nearby, exacerbating the parking problem.

Nigel Cannings, of Amyand Park Road, recently witnessed a Tesco lorry which was not loading or unloading parked in the bay.

He phoned the council to ask why the lorry had not been ticketed and was told they needed to observe it for 20 minutes before they could issue a ticket Mr Cannings said: "If the lorry or a Tesco customer is in the bus stop it should get a ticket immediately.

"If a lorry is loading or unloading it does not attract a ticket. However, if it is not loading or unloading, but waiting or just parked, it is in breach of regulations and should get a ticket.

"A few tickets to Tesco lorries and their customers should get the message over.

"Is it possible to get someone in transport to opine on whether a lorry is in breach of the loading bay restrictions if it is wider than the indicated bay?

"I jokingly suggested some time ago I would lie down in the loading bay if nothing was done about the constant abuses.

"I am beginning to think, with the council's inaction, maybe I should stop joking and do it."

A decision to extend the loading bay with different hours of delivery has now been made by Richmond upon Thames Council in a bid to put an end to lorries blocking the traffic flow.

This will be implemented within the next six weeks.

Cllr Mark Kreling, Richmond Council's cabinet member for transport, said: "Tesco and Superdrug have moved in. You might like it, or you might not like it but this is the way the world works.

"We can't move in and stop people from conducting their business.

"We have taken a decision about the loading bay. We're making it bigger. This will make the bay sufficient for lorries to use it without being detrimental to the traffic flow."