Some months back there were complaints that thoughtless, and in some cases dangerous, Parking by Albion fans was causing aggravation to residents in Carden Avenue and some side roads.

Councillor Geoffrey Theobald, one of the Patcham councillors, did his best to get some action and some few weeks ago a blue notice appeared on home match days at the roundabout at the junction of Carden Avenue and the London Road stating quite clearly: Residents' Parking Only - NO FOOTBALL PARKING'.

On New Year's Day that notice was there in the early part of the day and residents could go about their affairs in comfort.

By late morning someone had seen fit to remove, hide, destroy, whatever the notice.

Within minutes, Carden Avenue and the surrounding roads were at crisis point with cars trailing down both sides of this main artery into Patcham like an ever-increasing tide of lava from the mountains of Withdean.

This is a main bus route and there are at least two retirement homes full of elderly folk as well as a large sheltered housing block within yards of the junction.

Trying to get out of one of the side roads was an exercise in living dangerously as it was impossible to see round the parked cars.

There is also a stretch of cross-hatchings on the road at a sharp corner, meaning that if you drive through the road markings, you are driving through the equivalent of a stone wall.

Cars were driving through the stone wall at intervals of a few minutes since it was the only way to miss hitting the parked vehicles.

The elderly residents stood helpless on the grass verges waiting for a safe gap in the traffic and finally gave up the unequal struggle to cross to the bus stop or the pillarbox.

The original reason for the cross hatching being painted on the road was in an effort to stop the garden walls on that bend being knocked down on a regular basis by careless drivers.

That did not give a moment's anxiety to the football parkers. They had found a spare few feet of road and it was theirs for good or ill and to hell with safety or someone's driveway.

It is no good Martin Perry saying that there is transport available for the fans and no one needs to bring their car to the match.

The message has clearly not got through. No Parking Zones must be made to work and if necessary, some form of stewarding must be mounted on roads designated Residents-Only Parking.

If the residents of Stanmer Village want to see what fate has in store for them if the plan for a stadium there ever got the go-ahead, they could do worse than come and have a look at Patcham on the day of a home fixture.

It might strengthen their resolve to fight to maintain their village life which would not be safeguarded by a few blue No Parking signs.

I suspect that Coun Theobald may find he has a busy postbag if that sign does not reappear at the bottom of Carden Avenue for the next home match and for all home fixtures in the future.

If the notice does not appear, then Martin Perry may find that his words of comfort to non-football supporters ring rather hollow.