The public transport strike which paralysed the island over the past two days has inconvenienced many but some people, including Floriana residents, had to bear the brunt of the stoppage.

Floriana mayor Nigel Holland said yesterday residents of his locality were very badly affected as access was completely or partially blocked, especially on Monday.

Residents requiring some service, as was the case of a family who were having some rooms painted, were kept waiting because the service providers found it difficult to gain access and did not turn up.

Mr Holland said that, in his opinion, certain traffic arrangements made by the police on Monday did not make sense and in fact contributed to more chaos. The situation was slightly better yesterday because St Anne Street had at least one free lane.

The parking situation was impossible, locking many residents inside their homes fearing they would be unable to park if they drove out of the locality in their car.

Mr Holland said the council had received requests from non-residents for the controlled parking scheme to be suspended during the strike in order to ease problems. The council was considering the request.

He said he had contacted Victor Spiteri, the president of the Transport Federation, and protested with him that the strike action should not include the blocking of roads. This was causing unnecessary hardship. While certain repercussions of a strike action were acceptable, going on strike was not an excuse for illegalities, Mr Holland insisted.