Drivers blasted for irresponsible parking at Wigan recreation ground

Newtown resident Keith Holland says parking near Laithwaite Park has become a huge concern, and is posing a safety risk to Wiganers wanting to access the park.

Mr Holland and his four-year-old daughter have frequently found their access to Laithwaite Park restricted on weekends, when an amateur football team plays there.

People are parking on the pathways both inside and outside the park, before walking over to the public pitches.

“We want a place to walk and play safely, that’s all I ask for,” said Mr Holland, 49.

“They can park anywhere, but they are lazy and don’t want to walk so far to the pitches. So they block off the paths and go over double yellow lines.

“There is meant to be a service road for lawn mowers to cut the grass etc, but it’s being used by drivers.

“All I want to be to able to do is walk on the footpath or on the grass without having to constantly look over my shoulder in case there’s a car coming.”

On one occasion, a 4x4 came close to hitting his little girl when it was trying to turn into the park.

He said: “We were on the path, walking towards the church.

“We were walking past the park, and this car just came bounding over straight onto the footpath.

“The driver wouldn’t have seen my daughter.

“I had to run in front of her and stand there. If I hadn’t, they wouldn’t have seen her.

He added: “It’s been going on for ages. Loads of my friends have emailed the council about it, but they say there is nothing they can do.

“We have spoken to the police too but they said it’s not a police matter as it’s council-owned land.”

Mark Tilley, assistant director for infrastructure and regulatory services, said: “Unfortunately there is no action we can take from an enforcement point of view, but the leaseholders of Laithwaite Park are currently speaking with the owners of the labour club to find a viable solution for local residents, which includes hopefully securing access to their car park on match days.”