THEY are the parents who put children in danger just so they can drop their youngsters close to the school gate.

Drivers who ignore the yellow no parking zig zag lines outside schools are to be targetted in a council crackdown.

Road bosses at Southampton City Council have waged war on problem parkers who clog up residents driveways, double yellow lines and even bus stops.

They have wheeled out a state-of-the-art car that they hope will catch the drivers red handed.

Anyone caught out by the vehicle will be given a £35 fine - which will be doubled if not paid within two weeks of the notice being issued.

It comes as thousands of children go back to school this week for the start of the new school year.

The measure by Southampton City Council comes two years after the Daily Echo reported how the problem had got so bad at one city school that residents threatened to carry out a blockade.

Residents living close to Fairisle Junior School in Lordshill had threatened the drastic action after becoming fed-up of their driveways being blocked by parents parking their cars illegally.

Independent Lordshill councillor for Putting People First, Don Thomas said: “It is quite a draconian way of going about this but we all recognise there is a real problem, especially at places like Fairisle Road.

“I find it particularly annoying because we came up with a solution for Fairisle Road to build a drop-off car park and no car would ever come to Fairisle Road again, I was absolutely gutted.

“I think anything that helps the residents living directly near the school who have lived with this nightmare for years is a good thing."

During patrols, the car will gather footage of cars parked in restricted areas, council staff will review this and decide if a penalty charge notice should be issued.

There will also be additional parking enforcement measures at school entrances and these being introduced in response to complaints and concerns raised by parents and teachers whose children are being put at risk by irresponsible parking.

To tackle the issue there will be a programme of enforcement activity starting in September, initially with a handful of schools that regularly see high levels of illegal parking near their premises.

Southampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport Jacqui Rayment, said: "We work closely with schools and the police to tackle irresponsible parking, but the problem tends to return once patrols have left the area.

"We are committed to improving road safety around our schools and at bus stops and we hope the presence of the highly visible camera car will act as a deterrent to those who break the rules and encourage them to park safely and legally.

“This initiative is about stopping dangerous parking not about collecting fines so our message is clear - park legally and responsibly and you won’t face a fixed penalty notice.”