ONCE again all traffic through West Tytherley was stopped for almost an hour by a large school bus blocking the narrow lane running through the centre of the village.

This is the latest in a series of accidents and traffic jams that Hampshire Highways Department, Test Valley Borough Council and the local parish council have consistently failed to do anything about – when the solution to the problem is extraordinarily simple.

Fortunately the damage done to a parked vehicle crushed by the bus at about 4.15pm on Wednesday, May 6, was minor and the car was eventually removed and the bus was able to continue on its way.

It should be self-evident to any sensible person that there simply is not enough room for cars or any other vehicles to park on this narrow stretch of North Lane, which is regularly used by very large buses, wide agricultural vehicles and articulated HGVs.

A parking ban is the logical solution. It would not inconvenience any of the nearby homes as they all have enough room to park two if not three vehicles in their driveways as well as having garages. Yet repeated petitions for a parking ban have failed because of the indifference of the official bodies that make these recommendations and decisions.

The problem is exacerbated by the proximity of the 98-pupil village primary school about 20 yards from this narrow lane. Despite requests for the them to park somewhere safer the mothers delivering and collecting their children continue to park on this road. The consequences of this anti-social behaviour may be dire for them as well as for the village because the eight foot earth bank that runs along the other side of this narrow stretch of North Lane has now been eroded to such an extent by the large vehicles forced into it that it is now dangerously unstable and liable at any time to collapse and could bring down a substantial hedgerow, as well as earth and stones, on to a schoolchild or local resident.

Is it surprising that so many people share Russell Brand’s view that politicians are worse than worthless when a simple matter of securing the safety and well-being of a village by introducing a limited parking ban can be so totally ignored? It seems that only when someone is injured or worse, will the powers that govern us lift a finger to do what they should have done a long time ago.

GARTH ALEXANDER, West Tytherley