A Liverpool dad has shared an image that powerfully sums up the city's huge problem with dangerous and selfish parking.
Joe Kelly took to twitter to share a picture of a car parked across the pedestrian pavement in Wavertree. In the same image you can see Joe's one-year-old son George in a pram that cannot fit through the gap left by the car.
Joe, 41, had been out with his wife and his son on Sunday evening when they were confronted with the obstacle. He told the ECHO how he was forced to push his son into the road to get past the car.
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He said: "I had been out to Smithdown Road for something to eat with my wife and our one-year-old son George and we were on our way back home, heading down Church Road North towards High Street in Wavertree.
"It's an area with appalling pavement parking and driving in general. Just last week I witnessed a woman in a car who was in a line of traffic and rather than wait, she decided to fully mount the pavement to get past.
"As the photo shows, this car was parked so far onto the pavement that it was impossible to get the pram with my son in past. In the end we had to go into the road to get by, it was either that or lift the pram to head height to get over it. This was at a blind bend as well."
Joe added: "It's just an idiotic thing to do. I don't understand the mindset of someone who will park like that, meaning a one-year-old ends up in the road, just so they can park a bit closer to where they want to go. It is pure selfishness."
Joe's twitter post has been viewed 236,000 times and shared widely. Commenting, local councillor and Liverpool Lib Dem leader Carl Cashman said: "Awful Joe. Sorry you’ve had to deal with this. It’s been an issue along Church Road and Church Road North for some time. I’m currently trying to get the double yellows there redone. More enforcement needed though. I will report this case for you."
Speaking about the huge response to his post, Joe said: "I don't use twitter a lot and so I was quite surprised with the level of interest in the post. It was 90% positive, with a few people suggesting I was making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't think that's the case when one-year-old kids are having to be pushed into roads."
Dangerous and illegal parking is a huge problem in Liverpool. The city council has vowed to hire more enforcement officers to try and clamp down on the issue.
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