CARS double parked on Park Street and Primrose Hill in Skipton are dangerous, claim local residents.

James Siddall, of Park Street, said the problem which had been ongoing for the past eight years, needed solving before there was a serious accident.

He said he had already witnessed an 85-year-old neighbour having to walk to an ambulance which could not get past the cars.

Mr Siddall said this was not the first time the emergency services could not get to Primrose Hill. Several years ago there had been an incident in which a fire engine could not get past the parked cars.

"It can be life threatening if the emergency services can't get up here. What would they do if there was a serious fire or accident?" said Mr Siddall.

There have also been reported incidents in which delivery vehicles and refuse collection wagons have struggled to get up the hill.

Mr Siddall said the culprits were not just leaving their cars for a few minutes but all day to avoid paying car parking charges. "It is very often difficult to park your own car here," he added.

A traffic management inquiry seven years ago concluded that the street off Raikes Road was dangerous.

Mr Siddall said he had attended the meeting but since then nothing had been done.

"Certainly it would be better if we had yellow lines on the left hand side. And I would support residents' only parking very much. To pay £25 a year would be reasonable," he added.

Assistant Divisional Fire Officer Stuart Stoney said he would support moves to improve access to the area through parking restrictions. "It does cause us concern in certain circumstances."

He added that new fire engines were being made bigger and the new appliances at Skipton were wider than old ones. Mr Stoney said many cars parked in residential areas could make it difficult for the appliances to get to a fire as quickly as possible.

Greg Robinson, head of operations at Craven District Council, said the refuse collectors had also had problems getting their vehicle into the street.

He said it had been known for sacks of rubbish to be left piled up and the van to not be able to get to it.

"The rubbish has been left and picked up at a later time. It wastes time and energy having to go back and it is horrible for the residents," said Mr Robinson.

No-one at the County Council highways department was available for comment.