A top football star has joined the illustrious array of rich and famous residents in a posh Kingston Hill estate, whose houses remain locked away behind private gates the council has ordered be removed.

Florent Malouda, who is paid £40,000-a-week by Chelsea Football Club, has bought a house thought to be worth about £5m in Coombe Park.

The road has been the source of controversy because it is split into a public highway and a private road by two-metre high gates built in 2008.

After finding the gates were illegal in May, and promising in February to “finalise its strategy” about pulling them down, the council has not yet issued an enforcement order, disappointing nearby residents.

Dr Robin Tillett, who has led the campaign against the Coombe Park gates, said: “The whole saga has been going on for a couple of years and it’s extremely frustrating.

“The longer the gates are there, the more it sets a precedent for other roads in Kingston to do the same and put up gates.”

A Kingston Council spokesman said: “Kingston Council is seeking to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.

"We have informed local residents and are currently awaiting advice from counsel as to the most appropriate means of resolving the current impasse.”