Shocking video shows fire engine struggling through Dovestone parking

A woman who has lived near Dovestone Reservoir for almost 20 years has shared a shocking video of how parking and traffic in the area delayed a fire engine responding to a moor fire this week. The video, shared with The Oldham Times by Ella Trow, shows the fire engine as it heads up to the reservoir. The fire engine making its way past vehicles parked on yellow lines (Image: Ella Trow) As the engine travelled up the lower part of the road, it managed to get through fairly quickly, and several...

When it reached the car park, the fire engine was forced to slow down while it squeezed through a gap between cars parked in spaces on either side of the road and a car that was coming in the opposite direction. The video shows double yellow lines on the side of the road but there are also spaces outlined on the road next to them, according to images on Google Maps. However, there were vehicles parked directly on yellow lines and the fire engine had to squeeze past these.

At one point in the video, the fire engine had to stop and pull to the side while oncoming traffic came through. The video shows that it took the fire engine at least four and a half minutes before it even made it past the car park. Ms Trow said she has lived in the area for 17 years and told of the impact parking has on the residents.