I rise to present a petition that I have worked on with the pupils and children of Ellel St John’s Primary School in Galgate regarding parked vehicles and emergencies following a, frankly, false fire alarm at their school. A fire engine was unable to access the school due to parked vehicles. The children have organised this petition with me and collected many signatures. The petition states:

The petitioners therefore urge the House of Commons to urge the Department to raise this issue with Lancashire County Council in order to prevent this incident from happening again.

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents of Galgate,

Declares that recently a fire alarm went off at Ellel St John’s Primary school; further declares that during the fire alarm, fire services were unable to access Chapel Lane as vehicles were parked in a way which did not allow access; notes that on this occasion it was a false alarm but in a real emergency this blockage could have prevented fire services from reaching the school in time.

The petitioners therefore urge the House of Commons to urge the Department to raise this issue with Lancashire County Council in order to prevent this incident from happening again.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002861]