Residents on Highfield Avenue are calling for the removal of plastic poles, dubbed the green-eyed monsters, outside their homes because they claim they are unsightly, unsafe and were put up without consultation.

Driffield Town Council decided to install the brown plastic bollards after receiving complaints about people parking on the green, but insist they did not have a duty to carry out a public consultation.

James Sharp, of Highfield Avenue, said: "From what I understand, one person has complained about people parking on the verge, but you can't go and stick stuff up and expect people to accept it. I thought I lived in a democracy."

He added: "They are an eyesore to the front of my property, the colour is dull and they make the property look like part of a council estate. They have not been erected anywhere else on the estate which points to this area as being a problem area."

Mr Sharp claimed the bollards obstruct his driveway and said they had stopped him being able to park outside his house.

"I bought this house and as far as I am concerned I should have the right to park outside the front of my house," he said.

Safety concerns have also been raised by Mr Sharp and his neighbours.
"The bollards are unsafe. After testing the stability of the posts I find there is sufficient movement to pose a risk to children who could play on these posts," he said.

Mr Sharp's neighbour, Ron Aboe, added: "In the summer when the kids are out playing, one of them is bound to run into one or bump their heads."
Andrew Hartley, of Highfield Avenue, said the unsightly bollards had caused a problem not solved one.

"In my opinion the money could have been better spent on the highwy. We have been living here for 25 years and have never known anything to be done yet.

"They are not solving a problem, they are creating one because people are just parking further up the road and buses can't get through," he said.

Clerk to the town council, Claire Binnington, said: "We didn't do any consultation because we do not have a duty to do any consultation. It is the East Riding of Yorkshire Council's land. They gave us permission to do it and we have responded to a number of concerns about parking.

"We haven't had any other complaints and apparently some people out and about have told the tidy team that they thought it was really good," said Mrs Binnington.