THERE are no real villains in the ongoing saga of emergency vehicles trying to negotiate parked cars, which we highlight today.

Or at least, there is no reason to believe any of the parkers in question deliberately sets out to be a villain.

They are not like, say, the drivers near a certain Swindon school who last year obstructed and harassed an ambulance crew as they tended to a desperately ill patient.

Sadly though, the potential consequences of the parking congestion remain the same irrespective of people’s intentions.

There are communities across this area so congested with parked cars that it’s only pure luck that they haven’t contributed to tragedies.

If a fire engine, for example, cannot immediately reach the location of a blaze or an accident, every second lost is one in which victims might be coming closer to injury or far worse.

There have been cases in other parts of the country and the world in which firefighters have either shifted vehicles aside or simply torn a path with their own, but this still causes delays.

Every motorist among us should ensure we’re not responsible for such potential disasters.

That means asking ourselves a simple question before we turn off the engine: “Have I left enough space for emergency vehicles of all kinds to get through?”

If we haven’t the only viable option is to go elsewhere, even if it means a longer walk.

Better that than a lifetime of guilt.