To: Zombiedmummy

Given that recently the royal bodyguards have been parking further back from the dropped curb (so they don't block it) and turning off their engines, it looks like this is their choice rather than an imperative for them.

Also, given that they are often on their phones, drinking coffee or chatting to other bodyguards through their car windows, I assume that they aren't in the high alert you think they are.

I'm sure we all support them doing their jobs, but equally it would be nice if they continued to park in such a way that pedestrians aren't forced to walk out into a busy street (often with small children') to get around their vehicles.

In terms of being a keyboard warrior, perhaps let people care about their communities. All human life is equal. I support keeping the royal children safe. I also support keeping all the small children that regularly just Battersea high Street (with its second primary school and nursery school) safe by not forcing them into the road when they cross the street.

To dimelda ............ "unless you have inside knowledge" yourself your comment is just emotional claptrap.  It seems entirely likely - at least to me - that the vehicle may well be packed with electronic equipment which neither you nor I know about which needs to be kept charged.

Most of the parents are local, yet choose to drive. These parents will also be aware of the additional air pollution they create as well as making life less safe for those that walk/ cycle. Not to mention making life unpleasant for the neighbours.

Makes sense to drive to school when in suburbia or the country… but I struggle to understand why anyone does the “school run” by car in London Zone 2. Tiny fraction will be due to special circumstance (eg. disability), but most will be due to choice.

Has anyone mentioned contacting Parking Enforcement at the local authority? In my experience with schools the best way to stop dangerous parking is to get their number (preferably the mob number that reaches the enforcers while they are out and about), put it on your phones and keep calling it with details of dangerous parking. They may not come for a while but just one appearance is usually enough to do the job. A lot of councils also have a ‘bad parking map’ where you can click to highlight a problem junction/area. The more clicks, the more visits from enforcement - this can be very effective. Finally, why not contact the local police Safer Neighbourhood Team and enlist their support?

I think the comments here attacking the Royal bodyguards for idling are pretty disgraceful. It’s obvious that they are not allowed to turn off their car engines in case they need to move fast. It is also obvious that they are not going to say that when asked. They also clearly need to park in a place which is safest for those in their charge. Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows this.

These people are not chauffeurs. They are trained and brave police officers who are literally putting their lives on the line every day to protect a known terrorist target - the Royal family. I think it would be nice if they could be left to do their dangerous job without entitled, moaning, keyboard warriors, who aren’t fit to polish their shoes, abusing them for it.

I appreciate the intention of this post and understand others' views re: shaming on social media. However, this post got the job done for the most part, as Thomas's Clapham obviously then put up warning signs on a couple of street corners near their school and this stopped cars parking on the corners of Wroughton and Broomwood Roads (where the majority of kids cross to get to the school) and on the corner of Wisley Road and Broomwood Road.

And yet, there are still some Thomas's parents who believe they should be able to park anywhere and on any street corner, with disregard for causing chaos for other cars or for pedestrians. I'm afraid that resorting to shaming on social media may be the only way to get them to consider others.

BD63 HWW – Black Range Rover
Seen three times in past couple of weeks on the same corner of Kyrle Road which is a turning point for lots of cars to get through to Broomwood Road. This morning there was a park in a designated parking bay at the very top of Amner Road, less than 10m away, and other parks down Amner Road, Kyrle Road, Wroughton Road, less than 50m away.

RN19 OMC – Black/grey Range Rover
Kyrle Road near the corner of Amner Road where a lot of cars also have trouble turning left at the best of times, let alone when a large car parks on the yellow lines there blocking the view and causing chaos.

AE17 GXM – Grey Land Rover Discovery
Corner Webbs Road near Broomwood Road at 15:35 on a Friday afternoon as school children are walking home from Honeywell and Thomas's Schools.

Pretty much every school especially Belleville School, where cars park on the yellow zig zags or double park.  Funny I always thought the catchment of Belleville and Honeywell were supposed to be the same size as a postage stamp?

Agree about selfish parking outside any school. Eton House parents always amaze me with their bad parking skills! The Royals will be moving on soon. Plenty of parking space at their new school.

Re battery charging - I'm not defending them, but I bet the bodyguards' car also has a lot more non standard electrical equipment on board which needs to be kept charged.

Gemima, to answer your question on the battery re-charge.  The reference to charging up of the battery would, I assume, be because if a car only ever does very short drives it can cause the battery to lose charge.  This is especially the case if driving with headlights on in early morning during the winter months.  So that problem may subside as the mornings get lighter.  

Good for you Gemma! And that's a good suggestion by Dimelda.

I assume that they keep the engine running because they want to keep their heating on. If a traffic warden were to just take a little walk down Battersea High Street at pick up time, he would have a field day.

I wonder if one of the newspapers would be interested in a story on how the royal bodyguards are so badly (and illegally) parked? After all, Thomas' Battersea is in the ULEZ zone

It's hard to expect the Thomas' Battersea parents to park appropriately (not on corners or in front of dropped curbs) when the bodyguards do it all the time.

As an Emanuel parent I too am aghast and appalled at the parents that park and drop off on the double yellow lines outside the main school gates. The reckless three point turns as the children spill out is just an accident waiting to happen. On the rare occasion I do collect my children ( in my small electric car!) I always park away from the school in the allocated bays. Most children who don’t live locally travel into school by train or bus. The catchment is wide so parents from Chiswick, Barnes, Shepherds Bush or Kennington to name a few won’t be driving to Clapham in rush hour! The perpetrators must be semi-local! Also a lot of pupils do walk cycle or scoot.

Emanuel frequently email parents asking parents not to park illegally for both safety reasons and to be considerate to those who live in close proximity to the school. Sadly as in all these cases of numerous schools there are those as someone else stated that feel that the rules simply don’t apply to them.