MOTORISTS in Stafford and Stone are being urged to consider they can cause emergency services by parking badly.
A fire service spokesman said firefighters were having frequent issues driving fire engines down streets in both towns due to badly parked vehicles.
“The problems we often find are that emergency appliances cannot get down streets because of the way in which people have parked,” he said. “This not only affects firefighters as they are driving around carrying out community safety work, crucially it means they could be delayed in reaching an emergency situation.”
He said at three metres wide, a fire engine needed a four metre gap to pass, and urged drivers to consider how they parked with that in mind.
“We find the streets surrounding schools, particularly primary schools, are frequent problem areas,” he said.
He urged drivers to should avoid parking on corners as well as parallel to cars on the opposite side of the road.
He added the service would be introducing new postcards to leave on the windscreens of inconsiderately parked vehicles bearing the message “Think before you park: The extra time taken to reach an incident can cost lives! It could be your property we are trying to reach.”
Problem areas highlighted in Stafford included Garden Street, Wolverhampton Road, Lovatt Street and Young Avenue where Tillington Primary School is.
In Stone firefighters reported experiencing problems accessing Church Street, Stonefield Park Terrace, Berkeley Street, Victor Street, Alexander Street, Edward Street, Victoria Street, Cross Street, Albert Street, Arthur Street, Abbey Street and Northesk Street.
