RESIDENTS of a quiet Wilmslow suburb have found an historic bylaw which they hope will end their commuter parking nightmare and stop their streets being used as a rat-run.

Home-owners on Fulshaw Park have been plagued by cars blocking pavements, jamming roads and forcing vehicles to dangerously reverse onto major motoring arteries for the past 18 months.

They hope the bylaw will stop all but residents parking and using their streets. It states that no vehicle shall enter Fulshaw Park Road from Knutsford Road, and Fulshaw Park Road South from Alderley Road, except for access to Fulshaw Park.

The police had agreed to enforce the bylaw, if it could be found, but Cheshire County Council and residents couldn’t locate it until last week when a Fulshaw Park local chanced upon the order in the London Gazette.

Internet estate agent Manuel Golding, 68, who has lived on Ashford Road for 30 years, said: "People are pleased that, thank goodness, we can move up and down the road without having any traffic in the way.

"Hopefully, the residents of Fulshaw Park will have the tranquillity and safe roads returned to what they were 18 months ago."

Manuel said that a year and a half ago the area was quiet and could be used without without any hindrance.

"Then people started parking on the pavement and when the road has been blocked with up to 40 parked cars, vehicles have had to reverse onto Alderley Road just to let oncoming traffic through. It became a nightmare to go in and out," he said.

Manuel drew a blank when he approached Cheshire County Council for the order after the police told him they would enforce the bylaw if he could locate it.

Married Manuel said: "We have had a long, gruelling and aggravating 18 months in attempting to prise acknowledgement of the order’s existence out of Cheshire County Highways.

"All our enquiries over this period and those of the police to Cheshire County Council have met with the same response from the area highways – it either cannot be found or perhaps never existed."

Residents were offered a yellow line by CCC which would’ve been enforced by Macclesfield Borough Council, but after a vote by everyone on the estate they picked access only as a preference.

A CCC spokesman said: "We looked through our records and discovered we did not have a copy of the traffic order made by Macclesfield Borough Council. It was only when an advertising notice in the London Gazette was discovered and brought to our attention that the order could be found. The Gazette showed that the date of the order was November 1974 and MBC was then able to trace the missing order for us. The borough council then gave the county council a copy of the order and we gave Mr Golding his own copy within hours of our receipt of the order."