Driver fined after parked Skoda forces pedestrians to avoid buses on Northampton town centre footpath

A driver has been fined for nuisance parking in Northampton town centre, causing lunchtime traffic and buses to drive along footpaths and forcing shoppers to stop to avoid being knocked over.

Peter Smith, aged 54, pleaded guilty to causing an unnecessary obstruction on a road when he left a Skoda Octavia in George Row at 12.51pm on January 6, 2023. Documents from Northampton Magistrates’ Court revealed: “The vehicle was parked in a manner that it was causing any large vehicles such as lorries, buses and large vans to have to mount the curb to get past and at one point pedestrians had to stop to allow vehicles to pass.”

Smith, of Aviemore Gardens, West Hunsbury, was dealt with under the single justice procedure, used for minor cases using paperwork without requiring defendants to appear in court. He was fined £160 and ordered to pay a total of £154 towards prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.