Badly-parked car block firefighters in Harborough

Firefighters couldn’t get their fire engine up and down crowded streets in Market Harborough because badly-parked cars blocked their way.

Crews said they were forced to reverse their fire appliance out of congested terraced streets after carrying out vital home safety checks in the town.

They said that it was lucky that they had not been called out on a 999 emergency call otherwise lives would have been put at risk after their access was blocked off.

Fire crews are now calling on residents and drivers to park much more carefully after they ran into serious problems on East Street, Highfield Street and Logan Street off Coventry Road, Market Harborough.

“We couldn’t get our engine down these streets and had to reverse out of the area.

“We totally appreciate that terraced streets aren’t equipped to handle the amount of cars that people have.

“But that’s no reason to disobey the Highway Code and stop emergency service vehicles getting to where they are needed,” said Market Harborough-based firefighters.

“We have spared the embarrassment of posting pictures of the numerous vehicles blocking everyone’s way this time.

“Please park more considerately as this will massively increase our attendance times for emergencies and seconds can cost lives.

“Many thanks.”