Criminal behaviour

[Deleted member 65149]

It’s my birthday today and one of my presents was most appropriate! With any luck I’ll be deported to Australia soon.

 

[leef44]

Almost. It’s a triple width driveway with me owning the two-thirds that lead to the two doors of my double garage. There is no marker other than that I clean my part once a year. My part of the driveway is usually clear because my wife and I are strange people who use the garage for cars! I don’t mind people turning round in the driveway, but parking there is taking the piss.

If this is a common issue which your neighbour refuses to respect then it may be worth investing in some sort of divider e.g. gravel or small plantation or grass line, bevelled ridging.

 

[DSM10000]

We used to have this problem as our house is approached from a long drive way .

Despite placing two very clear signs saying Private Property ,No Parking Please at the start of the driveway we have had people park outside the house as they assumed it was a short cut to the Church, or they could not find anywhere to park when the annual summer Fete was taking place and therefore feel they may park where they like.

Part way along the drive is an entrance to a field and we grant the Farmer free access at any time.

This proves useful because if anyone parks in the driveway and will not move then a quick call to our Farmer friend and a tractor with chains will appear

 

[Deleted member 65149]

We used to have this problem as our house is approached from a long drive way .

Despite placing two very clear signs saying Private Property ,No Parking Please at the start of the driveway we have had people park outside the house as they assumed it was a short cut to the Church, or they could not find anywhere to park when the annual summer Fete was taking place and therefore feel they may park where they like.

Part way along the drive is an entrance to a field and we grant the Farmer free access at any time.

This proves useful because if anyone parks in the driveway and will not move then a quick call to our Farmer friend and a tractor with chains will appear

Love it. My son is a farmer and has a tractor - the trouble is he lives over 200 miles away!

 

[Deleted member 65149]

If this is a common issue which your neighbour refuses to respect then it may be worth investing in some sort of divider e.g. gravel or small plantation or grass line, bevelled ridging.

Unfortunately the mentally challenged who park in front of strangers’ garages are unlikely to take any notice of low level dividers.

 

[ToeKnee]

Could you fit any removable bollards at the start of your part of the drive, then if anyone parks there just fit the bollards and walk away? I appreciate they maybe able to get off via the other section of the drive but it may cause enough of a nuisance to stop it happening again?

 

[markjay]

Or put the wheelie bin in the middle of the drive... ?

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Could you fit any removable bollards at the start of your part of the drive, then if anyone parks there just fit the bollards and walk away? I appreciate they maybe able to get off via the other section of the drive but it may cause enough of a nuisance to stop it happening again?

It’s a thought

 

[MissyD]

How often does this happen @knighterrant ?

 

[Deleted member 65149]

How often does this happen @knighterrant ?

I’ve only resorted to squirting water at the offender this once. Uninvited people parking there is probably only a dozen times a year, so not a massive problem. It’s their complete disregard for other people’s property that annoys me the most.

 

[markjay]

How about a fake Private Parking Company sign, and a dummy CCTV camera? You know the drill, "By parking here you agree to enter into a contract with Ripoff Parking Services Ltd and pay £100 per hour..." etc etc.

 

[poormansporsche]

Not quite the same but I live in a rural area on a long road of early 20th century Bungalows all with gated entrances and lots of land. One by one they are being demolished and replaced with 2 million quid plus mansions. We are currently up to about 10. Funnily enough in my 45 years of living there we have never had a issue with people blocking the road whilst they opened their gates. No surprises whats coming next .... Every single one of the 10 new houses has electric gates and the selfish nouveau riche Bentayga, Range Rover and Q8 Drivers think of nothing blocking the road for 2 minutes whilst their gates open. It just wouldn't occur to them to pull over for 2 seconds to let you pass first. Of course if you are opening your electric gates whilst coming out of your drive this gives you the god given right to make any passing pedestrians, dog walkers or old codgers wait for you without a word of thanks !

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Not quite the same but I live in a rural area on a long road of early 20th century Bungalows all with gated entrances and lots of land. One by one they are being demolished and replaced with 2 million quid plus mansions. We are currently up to about 10. Funnily enough in my 45 years of living there we have never had a issue with people blocking the road whilst they opened their gates. No surprises whats coming next .... Every single one of the 10 new houses has electric gates and the selfish nouveau riche Bentayga, Range Rover and Q8 Drivers think of nothing blocking the road for 2 minutes whilst their gates open. It just wouldn't occur to them to pull over for 2 seconds to let you pass first. Of course if you are opening your electric gates whilst coming out of your drive this gives you the god given right to make any passing pedestrians, dog walkers or old codgers wait for you without a word of thanks !

Reminds me of when I lived next to Jessie Matthews, a leading actress/dancer/singer of the 1920s and 30s who continued her career until shortly before her death in 1981. She was a lovely lady who could talk the hind legs off a donkey, but 40 years after the height of her fame she still thought that everyone worshipped her. We lived on a busy A road and her technique for backing out of her drive was to lean on her horn and just go. Whenever I heard that horn I braced myself for the sound of a crash, but somehow it never happened.

 

[219]

Last Saturday was the 2nd anniversary of losing my younger sister in horrific circumstances, so I wasn’t at my best. Whilst doing a bit of therapeutic gardening I heard a diesel vehicle pull up and saw that it had stopped in my driveway. When the engine was turned off and the driver (a woman of not inconsiderable mass) got out and walked into next door I was not amused.

Ten minutes or so later she reappeared, got back into her car and started it - but didn’t drive off. I gathered together a stack of leaves, walked over to my garden refuse bin next to where she was parked and ‘said to myself’ reasonably loudly, “I wish I had my own driveway”.

Sat in her car she looked over to me and said, “Stop moaning, I’m not going to be here long”. I couldn’t help myself. “You’re right”, I replied, “You’ll get off my drive now!” After a few exchanges on the lines of “What harm am I doing” ... “You’re on my private property”, she shouted at me “Don’t be so f***ing stupid”. I berated her for her language in front of my neighbour’s 6 year old boy, but I she wasn’t bothered. The neighbour, having heard the “discussion”, called in her son. I tried asking the arrogant woman reasonably nicely to move off my drive but she refused, saying that she was waiting for someone. I suggested she wait in the road a few metres away at the end of my drive, but she was having none of it.

Fuming, I walked back to my garden before my depressive state caused me to lose it completely. But then I turned on my garden hose and walked back to my drive with it and started squirting water at the drive whilst saying I was washing it. Then “Oops”, I pointed the hose into her window instead of on the drive itself. Of course she closed the window, but stayed put with her engine still running. It took the guy next door to persuade his wife’s friend to eventually get off my drive.

Less than ten minutes later, a police car pulled up outside and an officer went in to my neighbour’s house. Yes, she’d called the police! A short while later he knocked on my door and came in to get my side of the story. I could tell that he could understand why I did what I did, but he had to advise me that squirting water at someone is classed as common assault. The ‘lady’ had decided not to press charges (how generous of her) but he had to record the incident as a criminal act because he’d been called out. I apologised for having been part of the cause of his time being wasted.

This evening, while watering the back garden I sprayed my little girl a few times as she ran laughing back and forth. Hopefully I don’t get reported for common assault against a minor!

Refusing to leave private property when asked is trespassing.

Also an offence , as is using profane language in front of a minor , it amounts to a disturbance of the peace .

Next time , just start to let the air out of her tyres - she’ll soon move .

 

[219]

Legally very little one can do..

Who can park on my driveway? Bizarre legal loopholes means your NEIGHBOUR can

PARKING disputes are commonplace in modern society, but when they happen at home, they can make your life a living hell. For this reason, many people put finding a home with a driveway at the top o…

www.thesun.co.uk

There is the law of trespass ( which does not exist in Scotland ) where anyone who refuses to leave your private property when asked ( irrelevant whether in a vehicle or not ) is guilty .

Another option , would be to deem the vehicle ‘delivered’ to you to be a gift : therefore yours to dispose of as you see fit . Wheels are easy to remove and sell ; or you could as your local vehicle dismantler to come and uplift it for free .

 

[markjay]

Refusing to leave private property when asked is trespassing.

I believe the law is different in Scotland and in England. Over here, as far so I know, if you are not causing damage, then trespassing is a civil offence, not dealt with by the police.

Also an offence , as is using profane language in front of a minor , it amounts to a disturbance of the peace.

Good point - though you'll need to be able to prove it? And it's likely that a one-off use of the F word will be dismissed by the police as 'no public interest'.

Next time , just start to let the air out of her tyres - she’ll soon move .

I think that would be illegal - damage to property.

My point is... I think that in England, bizarrely there's nothing you can (legally) do if someone decides to park their car on your drive, other than through the civil courts. This has been covered here before BTW.

 

[m80]

I believe the law is different in Scotland and in England. Over here, as far so I know, if you are not causing damage, then trespassing is a civil offence, not dealt with by the police.

As in a land owner needs go to court to have travellers shifted, by the Bailiffs. With police presence if aggro is anticipated.

I think that would be illegal - damage to property.

If that's a suggestion of 'criminal' damage it wouldn't apply as a simple act to restore is easy.
Damage is when a replacement is required. I don't see air would count as it's free.

Of course if the 'Lady' drove on tyres of unsuitable pressure that's a motoring offence.

Deflating tyres seems prretty good to me,
as would chalking messages on the body work.
Should the lady decide to pay someone to inflate and clean she could claim for out of pocket expenses, in the CC.

 

[219]

I believe the law is different in Scotland and in England. Over here, as far so I know, if you are not causing damage, then trespassing is a civil offence, not dealt with by the police.



Good point - though you'll need to be able to prove it? And it's likely that a one-off use of the F word will be dismissed by the police as 'no public interest'.


I think that would be illegal - damage to property.

My point is... I think that in England, bizarrely there's nothing you can (legally) do if someone decides to park their car on your drive, other than through the civil courts. This has been covered here before BTW.

Letting air out would not cause any damage nor loss ; it would be an interesting legal argument whether the air contained in her tyres is her property ( I don’t believe anyone ‘owns’ air ) , and damage would only arise if she drove on a deflated tyre , not by the act of letting the air out . The point is that I imagine she would drive off before such a thing could happen .

As for trespass , you are correct in that it does not exist here , but it is my understanding that , either side of the border , a person refusing to leave private property when asked can be arrested , in England the charge is trespass , in Scotland it is dealt with under some other law .

Also , while you can do less about being unable to enter your driveway , if someone is preventing you from leaving , then action can be taken .

 

[ToeKnee]

Am I the only one who thinks that the way to get someone to move their car is to immobilise it by letting the air out of the tyres defeats the objective???

 

[whitenemesis]

One wouldn't need to actually let the air out. Simply crouch by the wheel and make a hissing noise, let only a small amount out at most. I'm sure the message would be received