'Thoughtless' parking blocks fire engine

Firefighters in the Yorkshire Dales have said "thoughtless" parking blocked their route to an emergency call.

A crew from Bentham Fire Station was called out at 21:33 BST on Saturday to reports of a fire in the open in Upper Settle.

The crew was forced to reverse and find an alternative route through the market town after finding the fire engine could not pass a car parked on a narrow road.

"Every second counts in an emergency," said Jon Darnton, from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

"In a lot of circumstances... minutes and seconds count so the quicker we can get there the better for everybody involved," he added.

"There are a lot more vehicles on the roads now so we do understand that there is a premium for parking," the Craven and Harrogate District group manager added.

He said that the issue was "not a really regular occurrence" but the service had identified certain routes, both urban and rural, which could only be driven by "narrow-track fire engines".

The crew said police were requested to attend to "deal with the parking issue".

North Yorkshire Police has been contacted for comment.

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