CALLS have been made to tackle congestion issues in a town after an ambulance got held up in gridlocked morning traffic.

Dalton resident Glenn Higgins said he was worried to see an ambulance with its lights and sirens on getting stuck at the Wellington Street and Chapel Street junction in the town for several minutes on Monday morning.

Mr Higgins, 27, is also concerned about the number of parents dropping off children at the Dowdales School gates. He feels that buses travelling on that route to the school add to the congestion.

Mr Higgins, of Broughton Road, said traffic management around the town as a whole needs to be addressed, with vehicles parking in areas they should not be parked.

The dad-of-two is a great nephew of Dalton resident Hilda Higgins. Mrs Higgins, 76, died after she was hit by a van in Market Street in November last year.

Mr Higgins was particularly concerned to see an ambulance not being able to get on its way.

He said: "We need to alleviate the congestion in that area and in the town as a whole.

"These roads in and around Dowdales simply cannot take the volume of traffic it currently receives. If that ambulance is attending a life or death situation how valuable could those several minutes stuck in traffic be?

"The congestion issue on these roads in Dalton that immediately surround the vicinity of the school urgently needs addressing by the relevant body before we unfortunately have to deal with further fatalities."

Barry Doughty, Labour county councillor for Dalton North, said traffic matters are a key priority. He says he has met with Cumbria County Council's assistant head of highways in Dalton and the authority is working on a course of action.

Cllr Doughty said: "I recently met with Stephen Hall in Dalton to look at ways to rationalise the whole congestion issue, particularly in Market Street. We are trying to work with parking enforcement officers to stop indiscriminate parking. People should not be parking there."

Julie O’Connor, the headteacher of Dowdales School, said: “At times the traffic from the two schools around Nelson Street and Chapel Street puts demands on the community that everyone tries to be sensitive to.

"I write to parents on a regular basis to give a gentle reminder for them to drop their child off and pick them up from school being sensitive to other road and community users, particularly the emergency services. Every town across the country of course struggles to cope with the increasing numbers of cars on our roads.”

A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service said: “Our staff are well trained and experienced emergency drivers, as well as being highly skilled medical personnel, and they are used to dealing with congestion and how to navigate the ambulances through them. None of our staff have reported any serious delays with regards to this congestion and no harm as come to any patients as a result.”

Mr Higgins said he is planning to stand in the county council elections this May as an Independent candidate for Dalton North. Cllr Doughty has also said he will be contesting the Dalton North seat.

Nominations are open for people wanting to stand as candidates in the county council elections. The nominations process closes on April 4.

The Evening Mail contacted the local groups of the political parties about nominations for Dalton North. The Conservatives are not releasing details of nominations until the process has closed.

The Liberal Democrats, UKIP and The Green Party said they do not have nominations in this ward.