• Tiny lines have been painted on Caxton Street in Westminster, London
  • Westminster City Council are 'not happy' with botched job done by contractors

By Jennifer Smith

PUBLISHED: 09:15 EST, 1 September 2013 | UPDATED: 11:26 EST, 1 September 2013


Motorists are often caught out for parking where they shouldn't.

But drivers would be hard pushed to squeeze themselves on to these double yellow lines which measure just over nine inches.

The shortest double lines in the UK, they have been painted between a taxi rank and parking bays in Westminster, London.

Tight squeeze: The tiny lines measure just over nine inches, making them the shortest in the UK

Tight squeeze: The tiny lines on Caxton Street, Westminster, measure just over nine inches, making them the shortest in the UK

Westminster city council aren't happy about the error, describing it as 'a mistake by a contractor'

Leith Penny, Westminster City Council's strategic director for city management, said: 'This was a mistake made by a contractor. 

'We are obviously not happy about it, because double yellow lines should play an important part in traffic management and road safety.

'But on this occasion we can see how absurd this looks and we will make sure it is corrected.'

Last week, Cumbria County Council admitted making a 'ridiculous' mistake after it put double yellow lines across a busy T-junction.

Bungling workers painted a no-parking zone outside Workington Community Hospital because they were using maps from before it was built.

Bungling contractors painted double yellow lines next to a junction in Cumbria last week

Bungling contractors painted double yellow lines next to a junction in Cumbria last week

Earlier this year, double yellow lines stretching for just 13 inches were discovered on a street in Cambridge.

The lines were painted on a gap between parking bays in Humberstone Road, West Chesterton, by Cambridgeshire County Council.

These 13 inch double yellow lines were painted between parking spaces on Humberstone Road in Cambridge

These 13 inch double yellow lines were painted between parking spaces on Humberstone Road in Cambridge

A representative from the council described the lines as 'common practice', saying at the time:'The yellow lines are at either end of a disabled parking bay and are there to prevent vehicles parked either side from encroaching on the disabled bay'.

Council bosses also laid down 18 inch double yellow lines on parking bays in Highbury Crescent, North London, in 2007.

Last year double yellow lines measuring just 21 inches also appeared in Canterbury, Kent.




The comments below have not been moderated.

Now where can I park my matchbox car?

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The contractors are not always to blame as they follow the instructions AND MAP given to them by the council as part of the contract....

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What do these people use for brains? - cozmik , RIP-UK, United Kingdom, 01/9/2013 17:11 - Apparently nothing!

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Westminster Council are a joke when it comes to parking enforcement - people had better be careful because if they stop for just a second too long, they themselves might face a parking charge. The congestion charge was introduced to reduce the number of vehicles in the area and in turn reduce the emissions from the heaviest polluters (taxis excluded). Westminster encouraged people to change their ways of travelling into London. Many chose to get a scooter or a motorcycle, the newer of which are as clean as the equivalent aged car. With more 2 wheeled commuters, they then were faced with once free parking, taking up little room compared to a car to being charged. Not only that, they then changed the cash option for parking and for commuters to pay by phone. Westminster are currently being investigated by the EU for the legality of the parking enforcement changes for motorcycles and cars. The company that is contracted to enforce parking did not tender for the contract correctly

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These double yellow lines do not strike me as being particularly ridiculous -- they just seem to be making it clear that you should park within the relevant bay or you may face a ticket.

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If markings don't conform to highway regs they are unenforceable.If the regs say theis is what needs to be there then they have to be there. A motorbike could park in that gap end on,now it cant.

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Council Clowns.

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Oh well that's me booked & towed away for definite

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The yellow lines between parking bays might not be so stupid. You get a ticket in Edinburgh for parking outwith your marked bay.

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This is why councils should have a dedicated road maintenance team, rather than use contractors who will simply do the job regardless of whether it's wrong.

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