A CUBS group has launched a national petition to stop people from parking on pavements.

Staindrop Cubs, in County Durham, is calling for a ban on pavement parking across the UK after researching the problem in their own village.

The 28 youngsters, aged between eight and ten years old, were inspired by a visit from Christine Kay, of Guide Dogs (Darlington) and her dog Sula, after she told them about the struggles of her daily life.

And despite raising £100 for the charity to help a train a new guide dog, the cubs decided to push their campaign further, agreeing that “raising money wasn’t enough”.

They decided to create their own posters and parking tickets which they have been handing out to ‘offenders’ asking them not to park on the pavement and officially launched their petition last night (Wednesday, January 27).

Cub leader Jacqui Nicholson said parking in the village had been an issue for several years and meeting Ms Kay had made the children want to take action.

“The cubs were horrified that it’s illegal in London to park on the pavement but not up here and they were saying that’s not fair,” she said.

“I drove through Staindrop today and there were wheelie bins and cars parked and you would have to be stick thin to get through.”

She added: “We hope people will see the point they are trying to get across – I think most people understand it’s just laziness.”

The petition already has more than 14,000 hits on social media and has been shared by both the Scout Association and Guide Dogs UK.

It is part of the Scout Association’s national project A Million Hands, a year-long project which will see half a million young people committed to removing social barriers, connecting communities and improving lives by completing tasks around four issues: dementia, access to clean water and sanitation, disability and mental health.

Mrs Nicholson said the youngsters were hoping to receive enough signatures to be able to travel to London to deliver their petition in person and were also looking to gain the support of their local MP, Helen Goodman, who they hoped would hand it over with them.

Mrs Nicholson added: “If they get enough votes then we can go down and deliver it to Downing Street in person which will be lovely.”

To sign the petition search for Staindrop Cub pavement parking online by visiting petition.parliament.uk