A Lewisham mum has slammed “defensive, threatening, and uncooperative” traffic wardens who stopped parents from parking for free on a road they’ve used for years.

Lisa Hamilton is one of many parents who has used Duke Humphrey Road as a spot to leave cars briefly so they can drop off and pick up their children to and from school for several years.

However, on October 7, Lisa and other parents were reportedly met with traffic wardens who threatened to give them a ticket for parking in the same place.

Lisa told the News Shopper: “After school pick-up, we parents usually park along Duke Humphrey Road.

“And just after 3.30pm, a CCTV smart car started to make its way along the road quite slowly and two parents approached the traffic wardens in their vehicle.

“When I went over, I saw the parents asking if they were giving people tickets.

“The wardens were instantly very defensive.”

Lisa said that the traffic wardens explained to the parents that they would be issuing tickets from there on.

The parents explained to the traffic wardens that they don’t leave their cars there for an extended period and have never been issued a ticket.

Lisa added: “One driver in the vehicle told me that he was a supervisor and none of us should be parking on the road, and moving forward, we will be getting tickets.

“I interjected and told them that we had nowhere else to park and asked why they were being so abrupt about things as we’ve not received any notice about this.

“We tried to explain to them what our situation was, but, again, they were quite rude in their manner.”

Lisa prepared to make enquiries by taking the badge numbers of the traffic wardens, but says she didn’t get the chance to because the van "sped off".

She said: “It looked like they accelerated off to avoid their badge numbers being taken.”

Lisa says she has approached Lewisham Council with a complaint about this entire situation, but says she’s not had a response yet.

Lisa said: “The van started to pull off and they said ‘Who do you think you are?’

“Another dad asked for the warden’s badge number too, but they replied with ‘Huh?’ and just sped off.”

She added: “The whole altercation was actually quite dangerous for the parents as we were standing so close to the vehicle.

“It’s really nasty behaviour.”

Lisa said that none of the parents, herself included, were made aware of any parking changes since they’ve been dropping off and picking up on Duke Humphrey Road for “decades”.

A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: "There have been no new parking restrictions implemented near All Saints Blackheath.

"The single yellow lines in that area have been in place since before the consolidation order in 2017, and enforcement continues as per existing regulations.

"Additionally, the school street restrictions on Blackheath Vale have been operational since 2021.

"We understand the concerns raised by parents regarding parking during school drop-off and pick-up times, and we always encourage safe and responsible parking practices to ensure the safety of all road users, particularly children.

"We are committed to communicating any future changes to parking restrictions in a timely manner to minimise any inconvenience to residents."