Motorists targeted as part of crackdown on poor parking in Market Drayton
Notices were handed out to motorists as part of a joint campaign to clamp down on poor parking in a town.
Police in Market Drayton along with the town's fire service joined forces to highlight the issue after receiving complaints that emergency vehicles would struggle to get down some streets due to inconsiderate parking.
On Tuesday, firefighters and colleagues from the town's safer neighbourhood team travelled down some of the town's narrow streets to highlight the issue.
A statement on behalf of Market Drayton Fire Station said: "We have been out and about in Market Drayton with our colleagues from West Mercia Police, highlighting poor parking which can restrict emergency services vehicles getting to an incident.
"Areas that are a particular problem to us are Victoria Road, Bentleys Road, Longslow Road, Hampton Drive but this is not exclusive and we can encounter problems wherever we go.
"Please think before you park, can a large vehicle get past? Please do not park near to junctions and don’t double park or park opposite another vehicle.
"We could be trying to get to you or your family in a hurry to help you, don’t hinder us!"
Constable Alan Ambrose, of Market Drayton Police Station, said: "Two advisory notices given out to vehicles. One of these drivers were spoken to as well."
A campaign poster has also been created which shows a picture of a fire engine trying to squeeze past two parked vehicles on a street.
It is captioned: “People are dying to park outside their homes – don’t let someone die because you wanted to!”
Councillor Matt Erwin, mayor of Market Drayton, has echoed calls for people to be more considerate when parking down some of the town's narrow streets.
"Many residential areas in Market Drayton are narrow such as Victoria Road, and with modern households often having multiple cars and limited parking space this exacerbates the issue. Many other residential areas often have cars parking on the pavement which causes its own problems.
"Plans to highlight this issue are welcomed and hopefully people will take heed and park with a little more thought for our 'blue light' services," he said.
People in Market Drayton have also been warned about not using the town's fire station as a place to turn their vehicles around.
On one day recently at least 12 vehicles used the station to turnaround in, with two vehicles stopping to drop people off.
