Lancashire police remove caravan that was left blocking pavement

Lancashire Police moved in earlier this month to remove a caravan officers claimed was blocking the pavement on a street in Lancaster, making life more dangerous for pedestrians and other road users.

The incident, which could leave you wondering “can you park a caravan on the street?“, saw police report that the ABI Award Daystar caravan had been left unhitched on a road in the Vale Estate in Lancaster. It was blocking “the entirety of the pavement” and so was forcing people with prams and in invalid carriages to go into the road to get past it.

They say the owner was given seven days’ notice to move the vehicle to a more suitable location, but failed to do so. The police then removed it using powers from Section 99 of the Road Traffic Regulations Act.

The move comes amid a wider crackdown on nuisance parking by police and Lancaster City Council after what they say is growing frustration over vehicles – not just caravans – left in dangerous or obstructive positions. Residents are being encouraged to report problem parking.

Police are also reminding vehicle owners that vehicles should not be parked anywhere where it would inconvenience pedestrians or other road users, obstruct emergency services, or where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchairs and pushchairs. They should also not be parked opposite or within 10 metres of a junction, or on a bend.

In other recent news, police in Nottinghamshire have issued an appeal for information after a Swift caravan was stolen from private farmland. The tourer was stolen in the early hours of the morning in April, and has distinct red and black scratch marks down its side panels.

Lincolnshire Police were also able to identify a stolen caravan thanks to an unusual sticker. Despite the tourer having been heavily tampered with, police were able to recover it for the owner.

Image: Lancashire Police

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PeterBaber

Peter Baber is Reviews Editor of Practical Caravan. His first caravan reviews date back to the early 1990s during his first stint working for the magazine, before he embarked on a 20-year career in business journalism which saw him edit a wide variety of magazines, and launch a few too, including one that won an award. Although he enjoyed that, he always knew he wanted to come back to the world of caravans and camping, having first got interested in it during two summers working as a campsite holiday rep in Switzerland in the 1980s. Peter reports on all the new models that make it to dealer forecourts each season, giving his judgement online and in magazine reviews. When he is not working, he likes to improve his skills at throwing pots (he is part of a pottery studio near where he lives and has just started selling his wares), indulges in a bit of baking, and likes playing tennis.