A delivery company has apologised "wholeheartedly" after one of its drivers parked in front of a fire station to make a delivery.

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has urged drivers to "think carefully" after the delivery van blocked the emergency route out of the fire station on Wednesday.

Parcel delivery company DPD said it was investigating after pictures emerged of one of its vans parked outside the vehicle doors at Partridge Green Fire Station, near Henfield.

The Argus: There is a sign warning drivers against parking outside the fire stationThere is a sign warning drivers against parking outside the fire station (Image: Partridge Green Fire and Rescue Service)

The village fire station, in the high street, posted pictures on its social media pages, calling the act "unbelievable".

Group manager for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service Mark Havell said parking like this could cost lives.

He said: "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.

"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.

"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."

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The Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006 makes it an offence to obstruct an emergency worker responding to an incident, with the potential for an unlimited fine.

A spokesman for DPD said the investigation into the matter was undertaken "as a matter of urgency."

He added: "We 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 and Rescue Service."

The lifesaving service has shared some tips for parking with fire engines in mind.

Drivers should:

  • Park close to the kerb
  • Park straight with wheels straight 
  • Fold in wing mirrors
  • In narrow streets only park on one side of the road
  • Obey the Highway Code and road markings 
  • Only park in areas available to the public
  • Do not park too close to corners or traffic calming measures 
  • Leave extra room at tight junctions 
  • Ask yourself – ‘Could I get through this space?’. If not, a fire engine probably couldn't either.