PEOPLE living in a town centre cul-de-sac have told planning officers they feel as though their homes have been in a supermarket car park for the past few months.

Residents of Blackett Street, Bishop Auckland, said that customers of the recently opened Asda store were constantly using the private parking area which had been set aside for residents.

Brian Hall, who has lived in the street for 40 years, told members of Wear Valley District Council's development control committee on Thursday night that he and his neighbours had suffered a torrent of abuse from shoppers parking outside their homes.

He said that pedestrians were also using the street as a short cut to get to the new store, which opened last November.

He said: "I cannot even get parked outside my own house and children are coming past and tormenting the pets in the street.''

Mr Hall and two of his neighbours spoke at the meeting as councillors discussed the building of a wall that would secure off-street parking for the residents, with sole access from Union Street.

The wall should have been built before the store opened, but the plans were amended after buses found it difficult to turn in one movement.

Mr Hall said that he hoped the building of the wall would restore normality to the street and return it to being a cul-de-sac.

Plans for the 1.35 metre wall and fences around the car park at the end of Blackett Street were unanimously approved by the committee.