A man was furious after he woke up to a stranger's car parked in his driveway. Zekarias Haile was shocked that someone, who he believes is a holidaymaker, decided to park on his property for days, which restricted his access to the garden and bins.
The 51-year-old who lives near Manchester Airport claimed he had to wait four days before the driver came back to collect his car. Zekarias lives five minutes away from the hub in Woodhouse Park, Wythenshawe, with his wife and two children and thinks the driver opted to park on his property instead of paying for expensive parking.
He told the Manchester Evening News: "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."
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Zekarias, who is a lecturer in Engineering at Wakefield College, called the police but was told it wasn't a criminal offence so they couldn't help. Officers said that because Zekarias' car wasn't blocked, as he had to park on the road, they weren't able to legally tow the vehicle off the drive.
He added: "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."
He explained that the car could have been parked on his drive my a rouge parking company in the area. He said: "A lady who was out the front when it was left told me the driver was wearing a high-vis 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. Subscribe here to our daily newsletter for the latest news in your inbox
"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."
The Manchester Evening News reports that both residents of Wythenshawe and holidaymakers have faced significant problems with parking in the area. They found that expensive parking charges at Manchester Airport have forced people to find cheaper alternatives.
As a result some homeowners have began renting out their driveways, but Zekarias has said he would not participate in this. A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed the matter was not a criminal offence, but that the homeowners could approach the council and take civil action.
Manchester Airport added: "As well as our own wide range of products, there are many reputable operators that serve Manchester Airport. 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."
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