'Idiot parking' shamed at Boston primary school

Illegal parking at a Boston primary school has been photographed and branded as "idiot parking" on social media.

Staff say cars regularly stop on yellow zigzag road markings at Hawthorn Tree Primary School, which is illegal at certain hours of the day.

Julie Warmsley, the school's chair of governors, said: "It's dangerous. There is going to be an accident one day."

More than 200 people are members of a Facebook group which sometimes sees multiple photos of people allegedly breaking the rules posted every day.

Yellow zigzag road markings mean stationary vehicles are prohibited, "even if picking up or setting down children" at school, according to the Highway Code.

They are intended to improve safety around schools.

Michelle Palmer, head teacher at Hawthorn Tree Primary School, said despite sending out "countless texts and countless emails" urging parents to follow the rules, they were still being ignored.

"I'm really worried that we'll end up with a fatality," she added.

There are no designated parking or pick up/drop off points at Hawthorn Tree Primary school, which is on a busy, narrow road.

The BBC tried to speak to parents who had parked illegally.

Some ignored the questions by closing windows, but others defended their actions.

"I only stop literally 30 seconds to let her get out the car," one parent said.

"If there were more children here I wouldn't have parked, I'd have gone down the bottom," she added.

Another agreed it was "unsafe" to park on the markings but said she had "only been a second".

A third said "there's nowhere safe to park" near the school.

"We've had some very near misses over the last few years. It's a dangerous situation."

The issue at the school was highlighted by a social media group which flags "idiot parking" in the surrounding roads.

Ms Palmer described the Facebook page as "supportive" of the school's issue, but stopped short of calling drivers "idiots".

"I would describe them as being irresponsible and not thinking about children's safety," she said.

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