A row over double yellow lines has erupted in a tiny, tucked away Tavistock street.

No waiting parking restrictions were initially proposed along the The Nook and Laburnum Cottages  after some residents said inconsiderate parking meant emergency vehicles couldn’t access properties, people couldn’t leave their homes and walls and gardens had been damaged.

They said many commercial  vehicles found it impossible to turn around in the narrow cul-de-sac and had to reverse down a windy hill and onto the main road to get out, causing safety issues to pedestrians on a road with no pavements.

But a staggering 81 people have opposed the ‘double yellows’ plans nonetheless, highlighting the hardship for residents without driveways and those with mobility problems and saying that the plans would make it harder for anyone to have visitors.

One opponent said there was so much ill feeling over the issue that he was considering moving house.

The controversial scheme is on hold because members of the West Devon Highways and Traffic Orders Committee can’t reach a decision. They have now agreed week to take a look at it again.

One councillor, who did not wish to be named, said there was “no easy answer to the problem”.

Resident Malcolm Worth has criticised councillors for the delay saying: “What an absolute waste of taxpayers’ money.”

He is supporting the parking restrictions saying he had frequently witnessed inconsiderate parking and damage being caused including a gas pipe repeatedly being ruptured by drivers.

He recalled an incident where an ambulance couldn’t get to a stroke patient and had to load them onto a carry chair from their home, then reverse down the hill.

Mr Worth claimed the amended double yellow lines plan would only displace around four residents’ cars as many of the 14 households in The Nook had their own driveways.

“This is a common sense proposal,” he said, adding that it would address “every single issue”.

Another resident said: “The bottom line is an ambulance needs to be able to get up here. This has been an ongoing issue for a number of years. I just tell my visitors they have to park elsewhere.”

One opponent said the site was “awkward” but had always been that way and she didn’t think the restriction would solve the problems.

“We have been managing it for years. I have never seen a case of someone not receiving medical care.”

She questioned why the debate was still going on in the face of “so much opposition”.

Another with no off street parking space within his property  said the parking restrictions would devalue his home by tens of thousands of pounds.

He said the South Western Ambulance Trust had not raised any issues, only four people supported the scheme in the consultation and council officers had recommended it did not go ahead.

One of the committee members said there was a problem at The Nook but the difficulty was trying to find a solution that kept everyone happy.

“It’s an emotive subject but that little estate is purely bad design,” he said. “Vehicles are getting much bigger and that can’t cope with anything bigger than a Ford Anglia.”