Residents of Weymouth’s Park District are calling for urgent action over parking problems.

Last year members of the community told the former Dorset County Council that the on-street parking permit scheme was “not fit for purpose”.

A 163-strong petition called for a review, with some residents complaining they felt trapped throughout the summer and on weekends, afraid to move their cars in case they could not find a space on their return.

One suggestion was to change the parking arrangements for hotels and businesses in the area so that customers would use town centre car parks.

DCC's petitions panel said nothing could be done until the new Dorset Council was set up.

Residents say they are still blighted by the lack of parking and are fed up with permits being given to hotels and B&Bs while they struggle to find spaces – despite paying £70 a year for each permit.

Tara and Kev Williams, who live on Hardwick Street, believe the issue has been made worse by a new virtual permit scheme.

"Nobody is expecting to park right outside their house but when you pay £70 for a permit you expect to be able to park somewhere nearby", Mrs Williams said.

"We need visual permits back so it's easy to see if a car is legally parked in the permit zone."

Kev Williams added: "Hotels customers leave their cars parked for the whole of their stay.

"I'd like roads in zone A to be resident-only, and the hour wait dropped to 30 minutes."

Cllr Jon Orrell, representing Melcombe Regis, said too many parking permits have been issued and is backing residents' call for a review.

"Dorset Council is currently appointing staff so there is a delay - but I am pressing for this vital reform and consultation to be top of the list", he said.

The current policy has been in place since 2012 with nearly 600 residential permits in use.

Another 156 are allocated to hotel or B&B guests, plus an additional 34 business permits.

In total more than 830 permits are in use - but only 625 parking spaces available.

A report to the DCC panel noted: “ Whilst there is no realistic scope of increasing the availability of parking spaces for residents there is scope to try and manage the demand with a review of the existing policy.”