ANGRY Frinton residents hit out after “selfish” daytrippers parked in an ambulance bay as visitors flocked to the coast.

Thousands of people descended upon Tendring last Thursday as the district’s resorts basked in temperatures of 27C.

But residents were left unhappy at bad parking across Frinton, including vehicles parking in an ambulance bay in The Esplanade, next to Frinton Golf Club.

One resident snapped a picture of a silver Mercedes car and a white Ford van parked in the bay, which allows ambulance crews to get as close as possible to the beaches and promenade between Frinton and Holland Haven should they be needed.

He said: “I hope no emergency services needed to get to the seafront - some people are so selfish.”

“The parking was awful down there Friday and there was no regard for safety.

“I have never seen it so busy at Frinton.”

Ward councillor Nick Turner said he was concerned about the behaviour of visitors to the town following the easing of lockdown restrictions. He said: “We feel our hospitality in Frinton has been abused.

“Parking in an ambulance bay is wrong on every level.

“These people would probably be the first to scream an about if they need an ambulance and it couldn’t get to them.

“That spot in an important one for ambulances as it’s used to get as close as possible to the Greensward and seafront in case of any emergencies and it has always kept free.

“The parking in Frinton this week has been appalling - we have been under siege from visitors.

“You can’t walk 300 yards without seeing something unpleasant and people have even parked over our driveway blocking in our car.

“My wife went out and put a polite note on the car and they just ripped it up and threw it on the drive.

“There’s a lot of anger out there and people now think they can do what they want.”

Mr Turner said he has reported the cars parked in the ambulance bay to Tendring Council and the North Essex Parking Partnership.

An East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesperson said: “Ambulance bays are designated so paramedics can access incidents as quickly as possible and we urge everyone to respect these spaces in the interests of patient safety.”