Illegal parking affects 999 response

Officials have videos of emergency crews struggling to move

A campaign has begun in Peterborough to ease the problem of carelessly-parked cars blocking fire and ambulance crews on their way to emergencies.

Response crews in Peterborough regularly find their route obstructed by cars parked on double yellow lines.

Officials told BBC Look East the situation is sometimes so bad that the engines have to do a three point turn to get through illegally or badly-parked cars.

Neil Thompson, of Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue, said: "We have had situations where our fire crews have been delayed for a number of minutes on the way to responding to emergency 999 calls.

"Obviously, in such circumstances, those minutes are vital and could mean the difference between life and death."

The ambulance and fire services have joined forces to launch a campaign urging people to do all they can to help prevent lives being put at risk.

Mr Thompson said: "What we're asking is that when people park their vehicles, they do so carefully with consideration to make sure there's sufficient space for ambulances and fire engines to pass swiftly and safely."