A severely visually impaired woman is urging drivers in Norwich to think twice before parking on pavements as she is forced to walk in the middle of the road.

Mhairi Claxton, 42, of Argyle Street, said she avoided certain roads in the city because she knew cars would be parked on pavements there.

Mhairi's eyesight deteriorated in her 20s and she now only sees the outline of people standing next to her. She said: 'People often park on pavements without really thinking about the effects it has on blind and visually impaired people.

'We're forced into the road which is a place I don't really enjoy being in.

'On some roads the sound echoes so it's very hard to hear which direction a car is travelling, and all it takes is a careless driver who's not paying attention properly before an accident could happen.'

Mhairi, a part-time cleaner who is guided around by her labrador Bramble, cited King Street and Magpie Road as examples of where pavement parking caused problems.

She is a member of national charity Guide Dogs UK and, to coincide with National Volunteers' Week, the charity wants people to take photos of a car or other vehicle blocking a pavement and email it to campaigns@guidedogs.org.uk along with the street name and place where you took it.

The charity will use your photo to build a map of the issue in every Parliamentary constituency across the UK and lobby MPs to find a solution.

• Are you affected by vehicles parked on pavements or do you have a health story? Email nicholas.carding@archant.co.uk