A resident of Penryn has claimed she was left trapped in her house for three hours after a bus got stuck on the narrow road outside, with incidents like this becoming a regular occurence.

With over ten different bus services leading through the town, Penryn is no stranger to the sight of public transport, however, the sheer number of vehicles on extremely narrow streets such as West Street is clogging up roads and causing lengthy congestion.

Alongside public transport passing through, cars parked on the curb are also adding to the problem, with buses and wider vehicles struggling to navigate past without mounting the curbs on the opposite side of the road.

On several occasions this has meant that residents have lost the ability to use their front doors and become stuck in their homes, with one resident of West Street being without the use of her front door for nearly three hours.

Andy Lambert, who has lived on West Street for nine years, said: "There's always been an issue with the buses.

"On the 11th of March I was stuck inside my cottage for nearly three hours.

"What happens is when you open the front door, you open it inwards, but the bus was two or three inches away all along the front door and my window.

Falmouth Packet: Cars parking on the curb has made the issue worse.Cars parking on the curb has made the issue worse.

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"So I wasn't able to get out of the house because, obviously, I'm more than two or three inches wide.

"I spoke to the bus driver about it through the window and he was actually quite concerned and had called all the people he could call I guess.

"Because there was such a great big queue of traffic, a lot of people were getting out of their cars to see what had happened and several men were able to bump a car that was blocking the bus out of the way, so the bus was able to then pass.

"Then yesterday (March 19) there was a different bus, and I chatted to him and he told me they hate driving down West Street because they know they're going to have this issue.

"He got stuck there from 2:10pm, when he first couldn't get past, until 4:10pm.

"If we needed an ambulance or a fire engine or the police to get here, how would any of them come through this nose-to-tail traffic jam?"

Penryn Town Councillors are aware of the situation and have contacted Highways and Environment West as well as Cornwall Council, according to emails seen by The Packet.

A spokesperson for the Council said: "Drivers can park on roads where there are no parking restrictions in place – such as double yellow lines – and the Council has no legal powers in these circumstances.

"We would always ask drivers to park considerately and make sure they are not causing an obstruction to traffic, especially an obstruction to larger vehicles such as buses, fire engines and ambulances.

"Where vehicles are causing an obstruction to the public highway, the police do have powers to remove.

"We are in regular contact with bus operators in Cornwall who will make us aware of issues on our roads and as buses are fitted with technology to give passengers information in ‘real time’ about when their bus is due, we can review the data to determine if there is an issue at a particular location and, if appropriate, what steps we can take to resolve the issue.

"We are aware of an incident last week where a parked car caused an obstruction on West Street.

"Cornwall Council continues to invest heavily in bus services to support those who may not have access to a car and this road is a key link for bus services that serve the surrounding area."