Drivers avoid C-charge by parking outside zone

Drivers are leaving their cars on the edge of the congestion charge zone to avoid the toll.

Residents say the western extension has prompted motorists to use streets close to the perimeter like a "park and ride" to avoid paying the £8 charge.

After parking their cars, they finish their journey into central London on public transport.

One of the worst hit areas is around Baron's Court and West Kensington Tube stations, both on the District line.

Hammersmith and Fulham council found that in some areas the use of pay-and-display parking had gone up by more than 300 per cent since the zone was extended in February last year. Councillor Nicholas Botterill said: "You cannot blame people for wanting to avoid the charge, but one of the side effects of the extension is that it is pushing central London congestion on to previously peaceful, residential west London streets."

Now the council is to poll its residents on the extension ahead of a Transport for London consultation in the autumn, in which people will be asked whether it should be "improved or removed".

The extension, which cost £123 million to create, covers Kensington, Chelsea, Bayswater, Notting Hill, Pimlico and Belgravia.