Bus stranded in village for second week running as drivers urged to park considerately

Drivers have been urged to think carefully about where they leave their vehicles this weekend, after a bus found itself stranded across a junction - unable to pass parked cars.

Bus services in Overstrand have been suspended for the day following the incident, which saw the bus unable to turn a corner at around 2pm this afternoon due to cars parked on corners and single yellow lines.

Bosses at Sanders Bus Services said they were considering stopping services to the village indefinitely following the incidents, however after a positive response from locals they have decided to continue.

General manager Richard Pengelly, said: “We’ve just been discussing what we do in future, we’ve been encouraged to stay in Overstrand because the local people have been fantastic. They have protected our driver, defending him against aggressive motorists, they offered him drink and food, they even actually went and found some of the drivers who are causing the problem and forced them to repark, so we have decided to give it another go.

“It was caused by nothing but parking, they park on the corners and we can’t get around. Our driver tried desperately to keep going but we ended up having to get extra vehicles to get the passengers home because this bus was just sat there.

“The issue has been worse this year, personally I think that it’s obviously always bad during the summer season, and now that we’ve got all these people on furlough it’s like they’re on holiday as well. We’ve always had problems but never this bad.”

He added: “I really want to pass on our thanks to the people of Overstrand, our driver was really well looked after, on this occasion the local population were absolutely fantastic.”

The incident comes after Norfolk County Council urged drivers to park considerately following other instances which have seen emergency vehicles, businesses and homes obstructed.

Marin Wilby, the council’s cabinet member for transport, said: “Wherever we park in the county, we should always be mindful of not leaving a car where it could cause an obstruction, particularly for colleagues in our emergency services, bus drivers and residents accessing their homes.”