Council threatens families with a £1,000 fine... for parking on their own drives

But then someone from the local council discovered the kerbs did not comply with the small print of the 1980 Highways Act.

So the residents were sent a letter ordering them to stop using their drives - or face a fine of up to £1,000.

Furious: Ken Laverack has been told he faces a £1,000 fine for parking on his own driveway as he has 'the wrong type of kerb'

Before parking on their property again they would have to apply in writing to the council for permission to rebuild the kerb and then pay an approved contractor around £1,200 for the work.

To comply with regulations, kerbs must be lowered to street level at the point where cars access properties. And until the work is done, the driveways are strictly out of bounds.

Fearful of being hit with fines, homeowners in Pinfold Street, Eastrington, East Yorkshire, are being forced to park on the street, causing traffic congestion as a result.

Residents are furious at the council's decree.

Roy Poulter, 63, who has lived on the street for more than a decade, said: 'I've been driving over the kerbs for all these years with no problems.'

Mr Poulter, an IT consultant, and his wife Ellen, 60, were quoted £1,200 for the work. He added: 'Where do they expect people to find this amount of money - especially in the current climate?'

Up you go: Ken Laverack mounts the pavement in his car to get into his driveway, which was built by the council 20 years ago

Ken Laverack, 61, who lives in a council house on the street, said: 'I just couldn't believe it when the letter arrived.

'The council put my drive in 20 years ago and now they're saying I can't use it.'

His neighbour Adam Stroud said: 'The Highways Act was issued 28 years ago. So why were the kerbs not dropped then?'

Most of the street's £200,000 semi-detached houses were built between 1949 and 1952. Some had driveways from the start. Others were constructed later.

But for some reason the kerb was never dropped at the entrance to each property so residents have always driven over the pavement.

Threat to fine: Twelve homes in Pinfold Street have been targeted by the council for parking in their own drives

To make matters worse, Mr Laverack's house and another of the 12 houses to which letters were sent are council-owned and were built only 20 years ago.

The letter from East Riding of Yorkshire Council told residents that, under the Act, they must stop using their drives 'until a satisfactory means of access to the kerb or verge has been constructed'.

However, Tory councillor Mark Preston said the authority's approach was 'heavy-handed and ill-timed' in the light of the credit crunch.

But the council was defiant, saying it was illegal to drive over a kerbed footway or verge and action was necessary.

'Homeowners are able to apply for a properly constructed drop kerb to provide vehicular access to property and many thousands of East Riding residents have followed this procedure,' it added.