Bad parking delays firefighters reaching 999 calls in Northamptonshire

Irresponsible drivers are blocking the way for fire engines answering emergency calls - with one motorist even obstructing the exit of a fire station.

Crews in Northamptonshire said bad parking was on the increase and had the potential to stop them attending life-threatening calls.

Firefighters reported often seeing cars stopped on double yellow lines and vehicles blocking the only emergency access for a school.

On one occasion, a crew even found themselves blocked in at their own station - after a motorist stopped across the bay where engines go in and out.

Chris Spokes, watch manager for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, said thoughtless drivers were putting lives at risk.

He said: "What we tend to find is people park for a short moment, thinking it's not going to be a massive inconvenience - 'I'm only going to be here for five minutes or 10 minutes'.

"But that five or 10 minutes, if it's at the wrong time when we're going to an incident, can potentially be a matter of life and death."

A standard Scania fire engine measures 2.6m (8.5ft) wide and 8m (26ft) long and needs extra space at junctions or during manoeuvres.

Parking either side of a narrow residential street stops engines reaching homes while cars parking either too close to, or even over, a fire hydrant prevents crews accessing water in an emergency.

And as well as warning drivers not to stop or park anywhere that could obstruct emergency services, the Highway Code also says vehicles should not stop opposite or within 10m of a junction.

Northamptonshire firefighters have begun putting yellow stickers on the windscreens of cars that cause a problem for them when out on a call to let drivers know they have parked inconsiderately.

Rob Berwick, watch commander, said: "We will always find a way to be able to respond to the incident, however the message we're trying to get across to the motorists is to take a second to consider how they're parking."