When Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Bosworth, was invited to the beautiful village of Thornton to have his photograph taken with ‘Jeremy’ he was a little wary that he may have to pose with the former Leader of the Labour Party.
There was no need to worry however when he discovered that the Jeremy in question was not the septuagenarian backbencher but the latest method that campaigners are using to inform motorists about inconsiderate parking in the village.
Jeremy is a six-foot scarecrow dressed as a traffic warden ready to hand out tickets emblazoned with the message ‘Notice. You suck at parking. Seriously.’
The light-hearted initiative of urging motorists to have their photograph taken with Jeremy has been adopted by the Thornton Reservoir Parking Problem Group, members of which met with Dr Luke and local councillors last Friday morning to discuss the long-standing problem.
Thornton Reservoir is a popular beauty spot with a path around its perimeter but inconsiderate parking on the narrow dam which runs alongside it and on connecting roads is causing severe congestion.
Dr Luke said “Thornton residents have long had to put up with inconsiderate parking: at times driveways are obstructed, traffic jams are commonplace, and emergency and agricultural vehicles often struggle to get past parked vehicle.
“I’m more than happy to speak with the police, Severn Trent and the highways authority on behalf of residents but the simple truth is what is needed is for motorists to be more considerate of others.
“If Jeremy can help get out the considerate parking message then I’m very happy to have my photograph taken with him. And this one is definitely more popular in Bosworth than his Islington namesake.”
Traffic congestion at Thornton Reservoir on Sunday 28 June 2020