Residents in north Oxford fear residential parking permits have been lost in the post, leaving them at risk of £40 parking fines.

The introduction of new residential parking on Monday took some householders by surprise.

But surprise turned to anger when they realised that they should have received parking permits well in advance.

Frenchay Road resident Jonathan Smith said: "I have had, to date, no information and only heard about the start date of the scheme through a work colleague. It was only just in time to get a permit and I narrowly missing a parking ticket on the first day." Mr Smith, a production controller with the publishers Lion Hudson, added: "When I contacted the council they just said that it was the fault of the Post Office as they had missed some deliveries.

"I know that many people have been caught out by this and I feel it is a disgusting state of affairs."

The new residential parking covers an area from north of Park Town to Cunliffe Close.

Richard Kingshott, for Oxfordshire County Council, said that no parking tickets had yet been issued.

He said that a decision had already been made to offer motorists a two-week parking amnesty to allow them to get used to the new restrictions.

But he confirmed that a number of North Oxford residents had been in contact to say their residential parking permits had not arrived.

While some people were blaming the post, he feared a number of permits might simply have been thrown out as junk mail. He urged residents in north Oxford still without parking permits to apply to the parking shop at Carfax.