Only in York’s narrowest street could this happen.

A van is pictured after having become thoroughly wedged between two kerbs in historic Shambles.

Matthew Johnson, a manager at local business Cox’s Leather shop, said the van was stuck outside his premises for more than two hours yesterday.

“You’ve had lorries and vans stuck under the Bar Walls quite a few times in York – now you’ve got one stuck between kerbs,” Mr Johnson said.

“The kerbs narrow at that point and the van driver couldn’t drive forwards and couldn’t reverse either.”

He said the van was only freed after a breakdown truck came and jacked up the rear of the vehicle and put down wooden planks under the wheels.

The driver was then able to drive the van away.

“I have never seen anything like it in about 20 years I have been here, although we have seen some big vans coming up at times that are far too large for the street,” he said. He said such vans normally mounted the pavement and drove along with the wheels on one side of the vehicle running along the pavement.

He claimed vans had sometimes hit signs on shops and occasionally struck buildings as well.

“There should be a width restriction, preventing anything going up Shambles that is wider than the road, without a doubt.”

He argued that vans could make deliveries to shops from King’s Square or from the other wider end near Pavement.

A spokeswoman for City of York Council said Shambles was restricted to pedestrians only between 10.30 am and 4pm, but vehicles were allowed down the street outside of these hours.

“There are no width restrictions,” she said, adding that she did not believe there were any proposals to introduce such a limit.

Shambles is one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval streets, with overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the 14th century.

Its name comes from the Saxon “Fleshammels”, which means “the street of the butchers.”