Residents have vented their fury at caravans and motorhomes parked in one of the UK's wealthiest areas. The rich and famous call Hampstead in north-west London home, with Zoopla reporting that the average sale price for a property in the area over the last year is £ 1.6 million. Pop stars Harry Styles and Dua Lipa, TV hosts Jonathan Ross, Richard Madeley, and Judy Finnigan, and comedian Ricky Gervais have houses in the neighbourhood.

But in some of its street rows of vehicles are found, which people seem to be residing in or abandoning for weeks or months on end. As The Express knocked on doors in Bishopswood Road, Haringey, a council parking enforcer rode by on a moped, wearing a high-visibility jacket.

The worker, who patrols the streets daily, told us how the council and police periodically "play a game" with elusive owners of the vans by tapping on their windows and drawing no answer. He said: "The problem is, how they are going to monitor them if you can't see them? You have to see someone living inside to take legal action."

The vehicles in this particular road, which is right next to the top independent Highgate School, he believes, were currently unoccupied. The enforcer mentioned that he knew of a man from Nottingham who parked up and went abroad for three months.

A retired lawyer, 66, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: "This road is basically just a car park."

She added that having large vehicles on the narrow road on a long-term basis is "just ridiculous", and residents were asking the council to allow only residents to park there. "I've been lobbying for resident parking in this road a long time," she said.

There have been vehicles "full of rubble", the local added.

"It's a disgrace. People start leaving rubbish there, and the council took years to get rid of them."

Tracey Pewten, 63, a housekeeper, said: "There's nothing we can do. This road here is not resident parking. They just come along and park. As one goes another arrives. I'd rather not have them there, especially if you've got the dust carts coming down in the morning. Maybe someone is double-parked, and that creates chaos." She added: They've been there for so long, you kind of get used to it."

"We've tried to talk to the council about it but nothing's been done." A dog walker in his 60s, who did not want to give his name, is concerned that the vans are blocking spaces that could be used by people travelling from elsewhere to use Hampstead Heath, which he called one of the best open spaces in London.

He said: "You want to encourage people to use the Heath... It's quite a hard one to find the answer to." He added: "I can't see an easy way around it, who ultimately is going to pay to get rid of them."

Although he showed limited sympathy for people annoyed by the vans, as they "should have looked at the parking restrictions" when they bought their house.

In Wildwood Road, right next to the heath in Barnet, there is another row of mobile homes, some of which looked very pricey. Upon knocking on one of them, a caravan attached to a red estate car, a dog could be heard barking inside. After tapping on the window of another, which had a lead connected to an electric socket in a lampost and a skylight open, a woman opened her door, seemingly woken. When she found out she was talking to a reporter, she said "no" and closed the door.

Aggy Cercas, 30, a dog walker, squeezed into a space between two of the vehicles. She visits the Heath four times a month.

Ms Cercas said they "never move" but do not present much of a problem overall.

Richard Bowlby, 84, a retired medical photographer who has lived in the area for 80 years, said: "I'm not hopping up and down [but] they've been there for a long time. I think the thing that worries me most is that it blocks the parking. It's very difficult around here for people who want to walk on the Heath recreationally.

"Those short stretches are very valuable for the people who want to stop over for an hour or two during the day. All the places are taken."

He said the vans currently in the road had been there for approximately two months. Mr Bowlby added: "By and large, they are taxed, insured, stable. There are some that don't seem to move; they're jacked up, some of them. Those are the ones I feel are blocking access to the Heath. I cherish it. We're very fortunate here, obviously."

He claimed owners sometimes keep buckets near their vehicles to collect 'grey' waste.

A Haringey Council spokesperson said: "We are looking into the issues raised and will be reviewing the parking arrangements for the area. This will include engagement with local people to ensure their voices are heard and we can co-produce the solutions needed."

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: "We are considering various suggested parking arrangements for this location and have been in discussion with residents and the wider community."