The school run is notoriously busy but for pupils at Brighton's Elm Grove Primary School it has become like Wacky Races.

Children walking along Elm Grove have to dodge cars parked on the pavement and are even hooted at by motorists driving along the pedestrian verge.

Drivers park behind safety railings, on corners and regularly block pelican crossings. Yet they go unprosecuted.

Yesterday morning at 8.50am a 500-yard stretch was packed with cars parked all the way along the pavement, including two sets of cars double parked. A delivery lorry on a corner forced parents and children down a side street and a car stopped on white zigzag lines.

The pavement immediately outside the school, which has 400 pupils aged four to 11, is even used to sell second-hand cars.

These obstacles have led parents to christen the stretch the Wacky Races but for them the craziest thing is that using the verge as a car park is legal.

Police and traffic wardens cannot issue tickets because they say the city council approved this use of the pavement in its parking plan.

Parents say it is only a matter of time before a child is hurt or killed.

Danny and Lucy O'Hare, who walk their children Fintan, eight, and Isolde, five, to school each day from their home in nearby Cobden Road, have had enough.

For the past few months Mr O'Hare, a science lecturer at Imperial College, London, has been writing to Brighton and Hove City Council and police to try to resolve the issue.

He finally received a letter last month from Inspector Pete Dommett outlining the situation.

Mr Dommett explained that normally if there is a double-yellow line on a street cars are not allowed to park on the pavement.

However, historical use of the wide pavements on Elm Grove for parking means drivers can flout these restrictions.

Mr O'Hare said: "There are always cars and vans parked on the pavement - it's a mixture of residents and parents. There's almost always a car blocking the pelican crossing but it never gets a ticket.

"Traffic wardens tell us this is actually a verge and it is legal to park.

"From what I understand there's a legal ambiguity as once upon a time there was a grass verge that was used by wagons on race days.

"It may be legal but it's intimidating and unsafe. I'm not against drivers or cars. I just want to keep cars and pedestrians separate."

Mr O'Hare said he had given up asking drivers not to park there as he only receives abuse or threats.

He said: "Local police officers have patrolled the area and are amazed at what happens.

"When they are there, things are not quite so bad. The moment they leave, Wacky Races start again."

Mrs O'Hare said: "We can't let our son walk to school alone even though we only live a two-minute walk away.

"I've had cars drive at me on the pavement so there's no way I'd let him walk by himself."

Mr O'Hare has been told the council intends to put in bollards but he thinks they will be a waste of money.

He said: "Drivers already ignore safety railings and drive along the pavement to get round them. The railings simply provide secure parking. Bollards won't stop them.

"The council needs to make the verge into diagonal parking bays and build up the rest of the pavement so cars cannot be driven on it.

There would be more parking for residents and it would keep pedestrians safe."

Last month, headteacher John Lynch found himself barricaded in the school grounds by a lorry driver who had blocked the gates.

He said: "People park outside the school gates. When I spoke to one man who had parked there to drop off a video to a nearby shop his reply was curt. He showed no appreciation of the fact he was parked outside a school.

"There may have been parking on verges historically but times are changing. This is a hugely busy school and community."

Lollipop lady Olwyn Judd, 72, said: "Cars are always double parked and you see them driving down the pavement.

"I don't have a go at the drivers - I'm not looking for a punch on the nose. I just have to get the children across safely."

Further up, a Medina Dairy delivery van parks on the corner of Elm Grove and Totland Road, blocking the route to the school.

A father, who did not want to be named, said: "The van is always here at 8.45am as we are walking to school. Because of safety railings which go around the corner we can't go around it as we'd be forced to walk on the road.

"Instead we have to go down a side road and back up.

"Once my five-year-old nephew got pinned in behind a car when the van reversed.

"I've complained to the company and they said they would change the delivery time but the next day the van was there again."

A dairy spokeswoman said: "Our Barking depot received a complaint and the driver is trying to avoid parking at that time. It is difficult as there's no other parking for the vehicle.

"I will talk to the council and the school about it as something needs to be changed."

The council parking manager was not available for comment but a council spokeswoman said: "We're aware of the problem around the school and we're waiting for funding so we can put bollards outside the school gates. This work is top of our list."