‘Selfish’ parking stops the trams

SELFISH parking is always a pain – though it’s not every day it disrupts hundreds of Metrolink passengers.

But one Mercedes driver managed it when he left his swish car into a no-parking zone.

Parked right next to the tracks, just before the Exchange Quay stop on the Eccles/Media City line, it caused problems for the next tram that came along yesterday.

The driver was seen getting out to assess the route as passengers in a number of trams were held up.

Many passengers ended up leaving the carriages to continue their journey on foot. It was eventually decided the tram could in fact just about pass, and services resumed by 2pm. The owner of the Mercedes was tracked down by police and was made to move his car.

Johnny Greaney, 42, from Bury, works in a nearby office. He said: “People including pensioners were being helped off the tram. The driver of that car is an idiot, a total buffoon. It’s clearly marked you can’t park there – it’s just so selfish, inconsiderate and ignorant. This takes selfish parking to a whole new level. Disrupting an entire Metrolink network is just mind-boggling.”

A Metrolink spokeswoman said: “At 1.09pm, a Metrolink driver stopped his service on the approach to Exchange Quay from Pomona due to a car being parked almost in the path of the tram.

“He reported the issue to the Metrolink control room, who contacted police.”