Police issued more than 50 parking tickets after officers spent the weekend dealing with dangerous and inconsiderate parking around Richmond Falls and the town centre.
Richmondshire neighbourhood policing officers said they had expected the town to be busy due to the warm weather and bank holiday weekend visitors, but described some of the parking they encountered as “extremely dangerous”.
Officers from the Richmondshire Neighbourhood Policing Team were deployed to Richmond Falls and surrounding areas on patrol throughout the day, alongside North Yorkshire Council traffic enforcement officers.
In a statement issued on social media, police said emergency vehicles could have struggled to reach people in need because of the way some vehicles had been left.
The force said: “Had there been an emergency in the area, emergency vehicles would not have been able to access those in need.”
Police confirmed that more than 50 penalty notices were issued to motorists parked illegally or obstructively, although officers said there were many more vehicles that could have been ticketed due to the scale of the problem.
The statement added: “The NPT have issued over 50 tickets this afternoon to vehicles parked in what can only be described as an idiotic manner.
“There quite easily could have been more tickets issued, we simply haven’t been able to get to every vehicle due to the sheer amount of traffic in the area.”
Richmond Falls is one of the town’s most popular visitor attractions during warm weather, with large numbers of tourists regularly travelling to the area during weekends and school holidays. However, residents have frequently raised concerns in recent years about congestion, inconsiderate parking and the impact of visitor numbers on the historic town centre and riverside areas.
Police acknowledged that many of those responsible may have travelled from outside the area, but said they wanted to reassure local residents that action would continue to be taken against dangerous parking.
The statement concluded: “We would like to reassure the communities of Richmond that we take the safety of the town seriously, and will not tolerate another weekend like this.
“Please, if you can share this far and wide so that people coming to Richmond respect the area, and look after our beauty spot as they should.”
