We’re blocked into our homes after jobsworth council dumped giant planter barricade to stop traffic – it’s a nightmare

: "My dad has got cancer and my mum is classed as disabled - although it's a five-minute drive to the shops and doctors, it's too far for them to walk.

"The council is proposing that they make the drive around four local schools to then join the school traffic."

When the issue was initially raised, Ms Clements claimed that her dad was told by a local council officer that residents should "learn to walk a bit further”.

She added: "The scheme is all about encouraging people to walk and cycle, but what about the people who can't?"

Dad-of-four Asif Mitha also explained the scheme had created longer journey times for parents and worshippers in the area who now have to travel further afield at peak times of the day.

He says each morning he takes one of his sons and his daughter, both under the age of 10, to school, and drops his youngest son, to his nursery before going to work.

He said the morning journey now takes double the time.

He said: “This [scheme] will cause more harm than it will good to our local community.

"The council wants to encourage more people to walk and low emissions from vehicles. But the thing is people who need to take a car will just a longer journey now - which will just create more pollution."

Shah Alim, who has lived in area for 14 years, said residents first heard about the plans last year – before launching a petition against the scheme.

However, they only received a response from the council several weeks ago informing them that the scheme would go ahead on a trial basis.

Speaking at a protest held last weekend against the measures, Ali said: "We realise this is a trial phase, but we feel that once it's in, the council won't listen to us."

According to letter later shared with residents the council insisted they would be "reflecting on" the petition, with measures set to be in place for a maximum period of 18 months.

In a statement, the spokesman for the city council said: "Our plans in the Evington area have been drawn up after extensive consultation with residents.

"The aim is to alleviate long-standing problems residents have told us about, such as rat-running and school-run parking, which can result in poor air quality and unsafe roads in our neighbourhoods. It is not possible to tackle these problems without making some changes and evaluating their impact.

"Residents were first informed of these plans last September. The latest plans – which were modified after further feedback from them - were outlined in a leaflet drop three weeks ago.

"However, there are clearly still some concerns, including a petition that we will be reflecting on. The whole scheme in Evington is experimental, and able to be modified over time or even removed."