A new 120-space car park is set to be built at Airedale Hospital to help relieve chronic congestion.

The move follows countless complaints to Airedale NHS Trust about insufficient parking spaces for visitors, many of whom are forced to park on Skipton Road and other nearby streets.

This week residents in Thornhill Road, which is connected to the hospital grounds by a public footpath, said they had experienced horrendous problems. They said that on Tuesday there were at least six unfamiliar cars cluttering the narrow road and blocking its junction with Gamel View.

One resident said complaints had been made to the police, council and the hospital -- and notes had even been stuck on windscreens -- but to no avail.

She added: "At the moment there are no parking restrictions on the road and there is no clear way of solving the problem.

"We can't ask for yellow lines, because then we are also bound to them and our relatives can't park when they visit." Bradford Council said it hadn't received any requests for traffic calming or parking enforcement measures in Thornhill Road, but would thoroughly investigate any complaints.

An Airedale Hospital spokesman said staff had been asked through their managers and heads of services to refrain from parking outside the grounds. The proposed new car park -- which is subject to planning permission -- would be built on the site currently occupied by the heli-pad, which would be relocated.

The spokesman said: "The proposal has come in recognition of the call for more parking spaces at the hospital and the need for the heli-pad to be closer to the accident and emergency department.

"With these plans we are killing two birds with one stone," he said.

If the plans are approved, work on the new car park should be complete by July.