'Unbelievable': Delivery driver parks van in front of Sussex fire station exit

The DPD delivery van driver left his vehicle outside Partridge Green Fire Station next to a sign stating: ‘No parking at any time. Access required by emergency personnel at all times.’

Firefighters later posted photos of the van on Twitter, saying: “Totally unbelievable, used it as a parking space!!!!”

A spokesperson for DPD said: “We have investigated this as a matter of urgency and understand the driver parked there very briefly to make a nearby delivery. This is completely unacceptable and we would like to apologise wholeheartedly to the West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.”

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service group manager Mark Havell said: “It is imperative that the routes out of our fire stations are kept clear and that people think carefully before parking.

“Partridge Green Fire Station is crewed by firefighters that respond to emergencies from their homes or main employment. They are paged to incidents and quickly make their way to the fire station and get on the fire engine.

“When responding to an emergency, every second counts and inconsiderate parking can impact the time it takes for us to attend the scene of an emergency.

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“Some of our fire engines are around one-and-a-half widths of a standard car, and this can make it difficult to manoeuvre around vehicles that have been carelessly parked.

“We would really urge people to think about the positioning of their cars on the roads, and avoid the use of our fire stations – it really could save a life.”