Using technology to park the car could free up an extra 20 per cent of spaces

 Park-assist technology could free nearly a fifth of spaces on streets, analysis by Direct Line Car Insurance has shown.

Experts reviewed 120 roads where kerbside parking bays were “full” and there was no space between any two vehicles to fit in an additional car.

They calculated how much additional space would be available if every car on the street had used parkassist technology.

The study found that if drivers stopped parking badly it could improve parking capacity on the UK’S most congested roads by 17 per cent.

London and Birmingham were the places which had the greatest average distances between parked vehicles and capacity could be increased by 20 per cent if all drivers used the technology, according to the study.

Of 2,003 adults questioned last May, 38 per cent said they had deliberately left space around their car to stop another vehicle parking next to it, 13 per cent had parked over two spaces to save a space for someone else and 73 per cent of drivers said they deliberately left space behind their car to manoeuvre.

The stress of parking caused some people to take drastic measures. Some 18 per cent of drivers said they gave up trying to park at home because they were being watched by somebody.