MOTORISTS who left their cars parked on both sides of a narrow Blackburn street have been slammed after firefighters had to walk to a blaze nearby.

Two crews from Blackburn Fire Station were called to an empty house in Swallowfields at around 6.50pm yesterday but were delayed after bad parking left the road blocked to emergency vehicles.

Watch manager David Shaw said: "It meant fire crews had to carry equipment for 150 metres to get to the fire.

"Had this been an incident where people were trapped in the fire, this could have had very serious consequences.

"We ask that, when people park a vehicle, they ensure emergency vehicles can still get access."

The fire was 'serious and established' by the time the firefighters finally reached the scene and, due to the amount of smoke, it was not possible for crews to find the flames without thermal imaging cameras.

Watch manager Shaw said: "The fire had been burning for some time and due to the property being vacant it allowed the fire to develop.

"The fire was quickly extinguished preventing further fire damage to the rest of the property. It is believed that the cause of the fire is an overheating fridge motor."