Hampshire police officers in Totton have taken to social media to defend themselves after being criticised for parking on double yellow lines.

A vehicle broke down on the roundabout at Maynard Road, Totton, on Tuesday last week which caused traffic difficulty for drivers.

Police came to the driver's aid and said that due to the location of the vehicle, it was too dangerous for other drivers to attempt to pass.

Officers took a picture of the scene, which showed a police van with one tyre on the kerb over double yellow lines, and uploaded it to the Totton Police Facebook page.

But that proved controversial, with after officers were criticised by one user on Facebook.

One Facebook user said: “Typical police on double yellows again no laws for the boys in blue.”

But other residents chimed in and came to the defence of the police, with one writing: “Why do people seem to jump on and hound the police, helping out people in need.

“What’s that saying - damned if you do dammed if you don’t.”

In response to the critic, police have now taken to Facebook to defend the parking – which police say was necessary to safely deal with the incident.

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The spokesperson wrote on Facebook: “Thank you to the majority of you for your supportive and understanding words following last week's post about a broken-down vehicle at the junction of Maynard Road.

“A small number of people, however, decided to comment on the positioning of the police vehicle, questioning why the van wasn’t parked elsewhere.

“Often, when our officers are responding to an incident, and having to do their very best to safeguard all concerned, they don’t always have the opportunity to search for the perfect parking space.

“On this occasion, the priority at the time was to ensure the safety of the person who had broken down and attempt to get traffic moving again, preventing potential accidents or harm to anyone in the process.

“While we will always do our very best to park appropriately, this is not always possible when responding to an incident, and when the priority is all of the things mentioned above.”