Careless Parking Delays Firefighters

People are being asked to park more carefully by Hampshire Fire and Rescue as bad parking's delaying fire engines getting to emergencies.

Fire crews say the biggest problem's in Portsmouth where people park right up to street corners, meaning the engines struggle to turn into them.

The average fire engine is 2.6m (8.5ft) wide and 8m (26ft) long, and needs room to negotiate the city's narrow streets. 

Careless parking is causing significant delays to fire engines attending incidents and where someone's life could be at risk and our attendance time is crucial. 

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service is now urging motorists to take care when parking their vehicles so that they do not prevent  fire engines from attending potentially life-threatening emergencies.