Mum's anger after fire engine's traffic woes near Winslow school

Gemma Gibbard, 34, drops her seven-year-old son, Lewis, at Winslow Combined School each morning by passing through Station Road and Lowndes Way.

And she was appalled to hear a fire engine struggled to reach the school last week because trucks and lorries were parked along the roads.

It turned out to be a false alarm but angered by the incident, she contacted WE Black, which is building flats nearby.

Miss Gibbard, who lives in Avenue Road with Lewis and her partner Craig, said: “It was really worrying.

“No-one seemed to mind that hundreds of children could have burned to death.

“What is this world coming to? It really couldn’t have been any worse.”

A comment from the school on Facebook said ‘five minutes were lost in response time’ due to the vehicles blocking the road.

It added: “In that time, the school could have been well alight, or lives could have been at risk.”

WE Black managing director, Eric Gadsden, said: “I agree that it was probably tight for a fire engine to get through, but they of course are very wide and there is plainly ample width for an ambulance or private car to pass.”