Swindon alleyway's double yellow lines painted black

The gap between the double yellow lines was just 13in (33cm)

Double yellow lines painted in an alleyway that is too narrow to drive down have been covered over.

The lines painted on both sides of a passageway, off Newhall Street in Swindon, which left a gap of just 13in (33cm) have been repainted black.

Local residents have criticised the repair work as "totally ridiculous".

But Swindon Borough Council said it was a "temporary measure" and the lines would eventually be "burnt off" by the authority's contractor.

'Even more bizarre'

The alleyway, according to resident Nathalie Fisher, is so narrow "you couldn't even fit a motorbike down it".

Despite that, two sets of double yellow lines were painted along it by council contractors to combat illegal parking.

Residents have described painting the lines in the first place as a "little bizarre" but painting over them in black paint as "even more bizarre".

But a council spokesman said they had been removed as the authority wanted drivers to know that double yellow lines "are there for good reason and are capable of being enforced".

"These particular lines didn't get close to meeting either criteria," he said.

"The lines will be burnt off, but in the meantime they have been painted over as a temporary measure."

He added that the contractor had agreed to meet the cost and the council would "not be paying for the painting of the lines or for their removal".