If it feels like parking the car when you pop the shops is a lot harder than it used to be, you’d be right – and the UK’s “carspreading” problem is largely to blame.

Our addiction to ever-larger cars has grown so strong that more than 4.6 million “supersized” SUVs are now too big for the minimum sized urban on-street parking space of 4.8 metres long and 1.8 metres wide.

Since 2018, according to data from Thatcham Research (an organisation that evaluates new cars on behalf of the insurance industry), the average width of new models of car has increased by nearly 6cm. Compared to the average width growth between 2001 and 2020 – 10cm – it’s clear cars are getting bigger, quicker and quicker. The average weight of new cars has ballooned by 227kg since 2018, too. And, the average car bo

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