There is nothing worse than being forced to walk in the road because someone has parked on the pavement especially when that someone is supposed to enforce the law.

The police car was spotted in Gidley Way, Horspath, near Oxford, by a member of the public on Monday last week.

Although there is no specific law against parking on the pavement, drivers can be prosecuted for creating an obstruction.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that officers were subject to the same laws as everyone else, unless there were good operational reasons.

After investigation, the spokesman confirmed the officers were not on an emergency call at the time, but did not say if the driver would be disciplined.

Horspath resident and district councillor Sarah Gray said pavement parking was a long-standing problem in the village.

She said the police car in Gidley Way would have meant people with pushchairs and anyone pushing a bike up the hill would have been forced into the road.

She added: "The police should set an example. This is something that the parish council has been looking into and we now have stickers that can be put on cars asking them not to park on the pavement.

"It is an issue that has been raised on quite a few occasions with the parish council. It's not only in Gidley Way, but that's certainly one of the more problematic roads, because it's a straight road and the traffic goes that much faster. I don't know why people park on the pavement, because there's room for cars to park on the road."