Badly-parked cars delayed Leicestershire paramedics by five minutes while out on an emergency call - forcing them to squeeze through a narrow gap.
The East Midlands Ambulance Service vehicle eventually got through, thanks to some careful and skilful manoeuvring, but still cost staff five minutes of precious time.
Paramedic Tim Hargraves tweeted on Friday, March 30: "One of our crews responded to a patient yesterday but had to negotiate some challenging parking.
"An additional five minutes were added, skill and judgment meant that the gap was safely negotiated and they made it to the patient."
Simon Crossley shared the photo on Facebook and wrote: "When you park your cars please consider who might need to get past in a hurry and consider if it were you or a loved one they were on their way to!!
"Thankfully this crew managed to squeeze through the gap without any damage, albeit adding several minutes to their response time.
"Imagine if that had been a fire engine! Or if the crew were responding to a cardiac arrest!"
Richard Lyne, East Midlands Ambulance Service General Manager for Leicestershire, told our sister title the Leicester Mercury: "Navigating through traffic at high speeds can be dangerous.
"Our frontline crews receive advanced training to qualify them to drive on lights and sirens which includes negotiating through streets with cars parked inconsiderately.
"In an emergency situation, delays can put lives at risk.
"For that reason, we would urge all motorists to park considerately and never leave their vehicle in a position where it could prevent an ambulance, or other emergency vehicles on a 999 call getting through."
