Warning to drivers after car is parked across entrance to Northamptonshire fire station

Drivers have been warned that their bad parking could cost lives after a fire crew was delayed in getting to an emergency.

Firefighters shared a photo of a car which had been parked partly across the entrance to the fire station forecourt as a crew responded to a 999 call to a kitchen fire in Northamptonshire on Saturday night.

The team from Rothwell was then delayed by bad parking near the site of the fire in Tresham Street, Kettering, where cars had been double parked.

A spokesman for the fire service reminded drivers that "those extra seconds could be the difference between life or death".

"Thankfully the fire was out prior to the arrival of our Kettering crew and no injuries were reported," they added.

The Rothwell station has seen an increase in residents using the forecourt for turning and parking, as well as double parking in streets near the station, said the fire service.

At the fire station in Earls Barton, crews have found members of the public parking in their private car park.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "A standard Scania fire appliance is approximately 2.6 metres wide by eight metres long and requires more space to manoeuvre than many people realise.

"The Highway Code states that ‘you should not stop or park anywhere you would prevent access for emergency services’ and ‘do not stop or park opposite or within 10 metres of a junction, except if in an authorised parking space’.

"We would urge residents to think carefully about where they have parked and consider whether they have left sufficient room for emergency services vehicles to get past. Those extra seconds could be the difference between life or death."

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