Furious businesses have launched a campaign against parking zones changes they say could force them out of business.

Traders in South End, Croydon, have collected hundreds of signatures against the council's plan to extend the hours that drivers have to pay to park on the streets.

The changes to controlled parking zones surrounding the central zone would see drivers charged to park on the kerbside between 8am and midnight, seven days a week.

The current hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Alfonso Camisotti, of the South End Traders' Association, said: “It's another nail in the coffin of small business. The restaurateurs are up in arms.

“We need people to come here park and have a nice time, but if you are going to be shoved into a car park and it's raining you don't want to have to walk through it. People will go to Sutton or Bromley.

“It's under the guise of trying to control traffic, but at the moment I'm looking out of the window and there's nothing going past.

“You can't keep milking the cow unless you feed it. If you don't feed it, it will die.”

In a statement on its website, Croydon Council said: “Since the inception of the zones in the early 1990s, there have been changes in shopping, entertainment and travel patterns in and around Croydon and the increase in traffic has had an effect on the demand for kerbside parking space and therefore needs to be managed more effectively.

“The level of available space for residents and businesses in the area has been reduced due to public shopping habits changing, which have also seen extra traffic travelling into the town centre on Sundays and in the evenings.”

Comments and representations need to be received by Friday, February 4. Phone 020 8726 7100 for further information.