A fire engine with its blue lights flashing was stuck in a town centre street because of double parking.

The delay was in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey on Sunday morning.

A Kent Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "A fire engine was unable to pass along Berridge Road in Sheerness yesterday morning due to a double-parked vehicle.

"Fortunately, the crew was not on the way to an incident."

She added: "The crew knocked on doors and while doing so turned on blue lights to draw residents’ attention in a bid to find the vehicle owner."

The owner was later found and the vehicle moved.

The spokesman added: "Fortunately, on this occasion, the vehicle did not prevent the crew from reaching an emergency. But we urge residents to work with us and to park responsibly.

"Always take a look to see if your vehicle is obstructing the road and if you’ve left enough room for an emergency vehicle to get through.”

It is not the first time crews from Sheerness have complained about inconsiderate parking in the town's backstreets. The last time was May 2018.

The station in Sheerness High Street has even been equipped with unusually narrow fire engines in a bid to make attending emergencies easier.

Leaflets highlighting the dangers of badly parked cars have also been issued to residents.

They feature a newspaper headline Child Dies In House Fire. The story says: "Tragedy struck as fire enginers wqere blocked by residents' badly parked cars."

The leaflet reminds residents that fire engines are large vehicles which need extra room to turn corners and extra space between cars parked opposite each other.

It adds: "Remember to park safely and you could help us save lives."

Read more: Stories from Sheppey here.