SOUTH Lakes Police has issued a statement on social media after drivers attempted to breach an emergency services cordon following an incident on Tuesday (July 25). 

Whilst at the scene of a road traffic collision on the outskirts of Grange, drivers attempted to 'plead their case for why they should be allowed through the cordon.'

A spokesperson for South Lakes Police said: "These reasons varied and included 'being local', 'needing to make a meeting', 'having to get the dog to the groomers', 'it doesn't look that bad' and 'wanting to see the helicopter which has just landed'.

"If you come across a police road closure, accept it, pull over, check your map or phone and plan an alternative route if one has not been provided. No amount of pleading, suggesting, or demanding will grant you access past the cordon. Emergency services are at work. The preservation of life is the priority.

"No matter how much you vilify, challenge, or otherwise vent your frustration to the officers on the cordon or at scene, in the words of a famous Tolkien protagonist, 'You shall not pass!'"

"There are unlikely to be any reasons you can offer that would justify the officers or other emergency services at the scene from breaching the cordon or closure in place.

"We appreciate you are impacted, but we also ask that you consider the wider circumstances surrounding what lays ahead of you. The injured occupants, the medics making split-second life changing decisions, the fire crews working to prevent wider risk or the air ambulance seeking a suitable location to land, which has previously occurred on the road itself.

"Please be assured that we are not dismissive of what is important to you but at times like these, where casualties are being treated at the roadside – your intended journey is, with all due respect, of little consequence to us, our colleagues, the injured or their families."

"As always, we are grateful to those who simply spun around without issue."