Hounslow Council has defended the decision to fine a driver for parking on the pavement of a street too narrow for cars to safely park otherwise.

Heathdale Avenue, in Hounslow West, is so slim two vehicles can barely pass side by side even with no cars parked.

Motorists have traditionally stopped with two wheels on the kerb to allow space for other cars and emergency vehicles to get by - an unwritten rule Menouar Sider says he has always observed.

The 38-year-old delivery driver, who lives around the corner in Standard Road, was shocked to receive a fine in April for doing just that, and even more surprised when an independent adjudicator refused to overturn the fine.

"There are no signs up but if you parked normally no one could get through, so everyone parks with two wheels on the pavement," he said.

"There's even a strip of tarmac so the paving is not damaged by the weight of cars. I'm not the only one to have received a fine. A lot of residents are upset because they don't know how else they can park here."

Parking services in Hounslow have been run by Serco since April last year, but the council still has the power to overturn fines should it see fit.

Should the council stand by the fine, drivers can take their case to the Parking and Traffic Appeals Service (PATAS), as Mr Sider did.

A previous ticket received by Mr Sider was overturned by the council on appeal in 2012, but the council says that was because the driver claimed the car had broken down.

A council spokesman said only motorists parking dangerously close to a junction in Heathdale Avenue, as it claimed Mr Sider had done on both occasions, would be fined.

"Although parking is currently allowed on the pavement along Heathdale Avenue while a review is being carried out, if a vehicle is parked near a junction - which could cause an accident - a fine is issued.  Careless and dangerous parking can cost lives," he added.

This is not the first time motorists have complained of being fined for parking with their wheels on the kerbs of narrow streets in the borough. In 2010, drivers in the borough complained of an 'unfair' clampdown on the practice.