Mobility scooter users' plea to bus stop blockers

Two protesters block cars from entering a bus stop in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire

Mobility scooter users have staged a protest against car drivers using a bus stop to park in.

The stop on Sea Lane in Ingoldmells is close to shops, but cars parking there illegally are preventing buses from stopping.

Campaigners want better enforcement so people with mobility issues can get on and off at the stop they need.

Lincolnshire County Council said it would clamp down on cars that block bus stops or use them to set down or pick up a passenger.

Campaigners say cars parked at a bus stop in Ingoldmells are preventing buses from stopping

Campaigners said the problem of illegal parking at some of the resort's bus stops was worse in the holidays.

They have called for clearer signage to encourage drivers to use existing car parks nearby and for holidaymakers to be more considerate.

Len Hemmingway, who lives on Sea Lane and uses a mobility scooter, said: "People don't want to put their cars in the car park.

"They park in the bus stop and then the buses coming down can't alight the passengers."

Campaigners urged drivers to be more considerate to bus users

Protester Wendy Dolan said: "If there are cars and the bus can’t stop then it goes round to the next stop

"We struggle to get a bus here anyway without making it more difficult.”

Irene Richardson added: “And if there are wheelchairs, they struggle to get wheelchairs on and off.”

Fellow protester Sandra Ford said: “Well, we can’t get on the buses here with all the cars parked up.

"Last week the [bus] driver got off and asked a woman to move her car and she gave him a load of abuse."

The council told the BBC that bus stops were a "no-stopping restriction, providing that they are signed and marked" and encouraged people to contact their local county councillor if they felt the stop did not have adequate signage.

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Len Hemmingway says buses cannot stop because of the parking problem