A PARENT says he was shocked at being sworn at when he asked a builder to move a van blocking the pavement on a busy road near his child's school.

The W Mundy Building Contractors van was parked opposite St Andrew's Primary School on Church Road, in Laverstock, when parent Chris Shering asked a workman to move it.

Mr Shering said the builder, who was not the driver, asked him if he was the police, before swearing at him.

"I said to him that I was very concerned for the safety of the children, and he then called me an 'A' hole.

"I said he should be more responsible."

But company director Graeme Mundy said the van was only parked on the pavement for five minutes with the engine running, and that the workmen said Mr Shering had spoken aggressively to them.

"I am not condoning or accepting what happened, but if someone is like that then that is why they got the response they got," he said.

"If someone says nicely, can you please move the van, then they would respond better.

"I have never had any of my staff complained about."

Church Road regularly experiences a high level of traffic, with three secondary schools located next to St Andrew's.

Due to this, the road is often gridlocked before and after a school day.

Mr Shering said: "The whole road in Laverstock is parking hell, and to have a work van blocking the whole pavement does not help."

Teacher Karen Andrews said that a teaching assistant witnessed an old man having to walk onto the road to pass the van, which is when Mr Shering confronted the contractor.

"It does not give the building company a good reputation if one of their staff is swearing at people.

"But at the same time they cannot win, because if they park on the road then they block the traffic."

Most people avoided using the road during the school rush hour if they could, Ms Andrews added.