A COMMUNITY is living in fear that someone will be seriously hurt or killed if parking problems are not addressed.

Residents and councillors in Chirk say it is only a matter of time before someone is injured as a result of lorries being parked next to the Co-op store in Holyhead Road

They claim drivers regularly pull up so close to the entrance to the nearby customer car park that it creates a blind spot for customers trying to get out onto the main road.

Cllr Hilary Spragg, of Chirk Town Council, said: “Despite us fighting this for a long time the situation has not changed and the problem will not go away unless something is done. It’s so dangerous.”

She added: “It’s like we have to wait for a dreadful accident or someone to be killed before anything will be done.”

Cllr Frank Hemmings said: “I think we need to keep on at Wrexham Council about getting double yellow lines put in place to see if that helps.”

Councillors have appealed to the police for assistance but, as PCSO Dean Sawyer said at a town council meeting, because the drivers were not breaking any law the police had no powers to prosecute.

He said: “I’m sorry to say there’s nothing we can do at the moment.

“It might help to have bollards or railings put in place but we haven’t got the powers to do that and parking tickets are the responsibility of council traffic wardens, not us.”

It is claimed that a large number of the drivers are contracted to Kronospan and councillors have asked management at the factory to address the problem.

But a spokesman for the company claimed none of the drivers work directly for Kronospan but are just contracted to carry out delivery work.

He said: “We do everything we can to discourage drivers from committing traffic offences.

“In February we had our attention drawn to this situation and we are now working to eliminate the problem.

“But it is hard to monitor because they are contracted hauliers, not Kronospan drivers.”

The town council has vowed to continue the fight to ensure the safety of residents living in the area.