MOTORISTS carelessly parking their cars on top of Tavistock's fire hydrants are causing potentially life threatening problems for the fire service.

In a spot check last week, Tavistock community fire officer Tim Smith counted 36 fire hydrants covered in the town centre out of a possible 200.

He said the main problem areas were Brook Street, Duke Street, West Street, Bannawell Street, Whitchurch Road, Plymouth Road and Old Exeter Road.

'We understand that not everyone will know what a fire hydrant is,' said Tim.

'But if drivers keep their eyes open for a bright yellow manhole cover 18ins by 1ft with the letters FH on them that is a fire hydrant.

'Nearby will be a bright yellow concrete post with a bold letter H in black. I think some people think they are put there just for dogs!'

Tim said the size of the main is marked on the upper part of the H and on the lower part how many feet the hydrant is from the post.

'But it isn't the post that we are worried about — it is the fire hydrant. A lot of people don't realise it but it is an offence to obstruct a fire hydrant,' he said.

The fire service is trying to create more awareness of the problems unthinking motorists can cause.

'In each street there might be up to five hydrants,' said Tim. 'What we have to do if a car is parked over one is physically remove it by 'bouncing' it into the middle of the road. This is time consuming when you are attending a fire.'

He said a fire engine only carries 400 gallons of water — and has the capability to pump 600 gallons a minute maximum. But that can only be done once the fire fighters have established a water supply from a hydrant.

'Everyone who is on water mains has a fire hydrant within close proximity.'

There are 500 fire hydrants in the Tavistock area — 300 of which are set in pavements.

'The majority of housing estates have their fire hydrants in the pavements — it is really only the old original Tavistock where we have the problems,' said Tim.

He hopes making the public more aware will remove the problem. If that fails he says it would mean the situation will have to be looked at further.