A stranger parked his car on a family drive for four days - and is believed to have taken a trip from a nearby airport - with police saying there is nothing they can do.
Zekarias Haile, 51, who lives with his wife and two children near Manchester Airport, believes the car belonged to a holidaymaker and said: "Someone, without my permission, had put the car there and they didn’t care.”
Zekarias found the grey Range Rover on the drive at the side of his home last Thursday - and it was still there four days later. Zekarias told the MEN: “I just went out and it was there. Then it was there Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. On Monday morning when we woke up it was gone.”
Zekarias called the police, who said it was not a criminal offence as his car, which he’d parked on the road, was not being blocked in. The unwanted vehicle restricted easy access to the garden and their bins.
Zekarias said: “I was very angry but I resisted doing anything to the car - just. I definitely didn’t feel all right about it. We couldn’t access our garden and we couldn’t take out our bins."
The family suspect that whoever left the Range Rover could have been working for a cowboy car park company.
Zekarias said: “A lady who was out the front when it was left told me the driver was wearing a high-viz jacket so I do believe it was one of those companies. My worry now is that, because I couldn’t do anything about it, it will happen again. There are rogue parking firms who claim they are meet and greet and they just park in our area. It’s a violation of my private property.”
Zekarias has made it clear he has no interest in renting out his driveway (Image: STEVE ALLEN)
A police spokesman said the matter was not a criminal offence and that the homeowners could approach the council and take civil action. A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “We categorically do not condone the practices of rogue operators, including those that falsely imply customers’ cars will be parked in secure locations and whose activities blight surrounding communities.
“We have worked closely with council trading standards teams and Greater Manchester Police over many years to combat this, and speak regularly with local councillors and residents about their concerns. As passenger numbers continue to increase in the wake of the pandemic we will maintain our position on this, working closely with Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police."
