A North East fire service has issued a plea for parents to stop putting lives at risk by parking inconsiderately on the school run.
The Tyne and Wear Fire Service has published a video showing the difficulties experienced by Sunderland crews attending emergencies during school drop-off and pick-up times.
In the montage video taken from dashcam footage, fire engines with sirens blaring are repeatedly held up by cars parked or waiting on yellow zig-zags and double yellow lines outside schools.
In some instances, the fire engines are brought to a total standstill by parked cars making residential roads too narrow for the large vehicles to pass safely.
A Tyne and Wear Fire Service spokesman said: "Every year we have the same issue around our region’s schools – inconsiderate parking at drop-off and pick up time.
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"It is against the law to park in a way that prevents emergency vehicles from getting through and it is also against the law to park at a school's entrance - but this does not seem to bother some.
"Inconsiderate parking on any street can slow down our response to an incident.
"If we can’t through in an emergency, the incident we are going to could deteriorate significantly.
"House fires can spread rapidly - every second counts.
"Ask yourself whether the seconds you save by parking inconsiderately are worth more than the seconds you could cost us responding to a serious incident?"
Although the video highlights the issues around school run parking, the fire service says inconsiderate parking is something crews see on many streets across the region.
The spokesman said: "If we can’t get through – you are putting lives at risk
"If we can’t get down that road, it is unlikely than an ambulance could either.
"Help us help you - this school year think about where you are parking your car during picking up and drop off."
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