Parking can be a sore point at times. There’s either someone parked in your space, someone blocking you in or just nowhere to park at all.
It can be incredibly, and understandably, frustrating for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and everything in between - but can usually be sorted out by a quick chat.
However, parking disputes can also lead to unnecessary spite and tension.
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Descending into petty notes, spray paint or even a punch-up, some situations have got to the point where police and prosecutors had to step in.
Here, the Manchester Evening News has looks back on the parking disputes that ended up in the region's courts - and some where the perpetrator was never found.
“Won’t be able to park there for much longer”
Andrew Vance and his neighbour had a long-running dispute about parking. After his neighbour had parked up in the shared parking space, he was approached by Vance who shouted: “Have you got that letter about the parking?”
The man confirmed he had, to which Vance stated: “Won’t be able to park there for much longer.” His neighbour said that the parking was for residents, only to be met with an angry reaction.
Vance, 54, stormed up to the car and shut the door on his neighbour’s arm. In fear of being attacked again, he wound his window down and said: “Andrew, I don’t want to discuss it any further.”
He was met with three punches to the face. In agony and unable to hear properly, he drove to the entrance of the car park and called 999.
Police arrived shortly afterwards. Initially appearing calm, Vance soon launched into a violent attack, which saw him scratch one officer, bite another and spit at a third. Fortunately there were no serious injuries.
Vance, of St Helier Square, Burnage, was handed four months imprisonment which was suspended for 12 months, along with 120 hours unpaid work and 10 days of rehabilitation activity requirement days at a hearing in October. He pleaded guilty to assault by beating of his neighbour, and five offences of assaulting an emergency worker.
“MOVE”
A family was left 'traumatised' after vandals spray painted the word 'MOVE' across their car and smashed the windows in a parking row earlier this month.
The Nissan Pixo also had its tyres deflated while it was parked near to the owner's Leigh home in the early hours of the morning.
A Ford Fiesta was also targeted by the thugs who damaged windows, let down tyres and daubed the word 'MOVE' across three vehicles in bright yellow paint.
Speaking of the vandalism to the vehicles parked partly on the pavement, the Nissan owner said of her children: "They have been tearful all day," she said. "They have found it very traumatic and are confused and wondering why my car's been damaged.
"It's like 'why?' We have not done anything to anybody. It's just really over the top and unnecessary. They could have spoken to people about the parking, it's not a big deal. Even just a note on the windscreen, the problem could have been fixed.
"There is no need to do all that damage. The cars are completely wrecked. It's not going to be cheap to fix."
Vandals also targeted an Audi. All three vehicles were parked in Glover Street, where the mum leaves her car overnight due to there being double yellow lines outside her home.
John Hill, who lives in Glover Street, said the number of cars parked on the residential street was an ongoing problem.
"People have been getting really upset with the amount of cars parked on this road," the 36-year-old said.
"It's that bad they park in front of my drive so I can't get out. Sometimes there are about ten cars here and no one can park. With all those cars, something was brewing."
Lorraine Ashworth, whose home is at the junction of Wigan Road and Glover Street, said she had her tyres slashed while parking next to her house two years ago.
"Parking around here has been a nightmare for years," she explained. "I work 12-hour shifts and come home at eight at night and have to go down the street to find somewhere to park. It's ridiculous.”
“Stop using this street as a car park!”
Two sisters who drive matching Range Rover Velars claimed they had notes stuck to their windscreens with glue and silicone after parking on a residential street.
Ellie Newman, 36, who lives in Whitefield and sister Jordana Timeyin, 39, who lives in Prestwich , park their vehicles on a street close to where they work in Whitefield.
The sisters both drive Range Rover Velars in black and white.
But the pair, who both work at loan agency Bridgewater Acceptances, said they have had notes left on their windscreens on several occasions, including ones stuck on the glass with glue.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News in October, Ellie claimed she discovered a note stuck with silicone to the windscreen of her black Range Rover after she finished work.
The note in black felt tip pen read: "Please stop using this street as a car park. Residents are coming home from work/shopping and cannot park on their own street!!"
But Ellie said she and sister Jordana are perfectly within their rights to park there. "There are no yellow lines," she said. "We work in the area and this is what we pay road tax for.
"Our offices have been there for 20 years. This has happened about four times. We have had our car scratched and around four notes left, stuck on with super glue, gaffer tape and now silicone. This is criminal damage."
According to the official RAC parking guide: "It is perfectly legal to park outside someone’s house, unless the vehicle is blocking a driveway or a wheel is over a dropped kerb.
"Other situations in which parking isn’t permitted include streets governed by residents’ parking permits or any of the restrictions outlined above, i.e. double yellow lines."
A box of DEAD FLIES, rotten veg and teabags
Hannah Jones was left horrified after finding her car ‘smeared with rotten veg and teabags’ amid a parking war in Bolton.
She woke to discover her vehicle had been vandalised after leaving it on Park Row in Eagley earlier this year. The 28-year-old parked on the backstreet after struggling to find another spot in the village.
The following day, she returned to her car to find a note attached to the windscreen reading “DO NOT PARK HERE”. The vehicle was covered in filth and the left wing mirror had been cracked.
Hannah, who owns a luxury garden room business, was forced to visit a car wash ahead of meeting customers that morning. Although the bizarre incident left her “shocked”, it’s not the first time it’s happened, she said.
After previously parking in a similar area, Hannah woke to find a box of dead flies on top of her car. Due to the village being a close-knit community, she says she’s “disappointed” a resident would choose vandalism instead of “having a conversation”.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , she said: “If you arrive at home anywhere past about 5pm there is usually hardly anywhere to park. I have sometimes had to park 10 minutes away from my house to get a spot.
“I had lots to carry from my car from work so I parked where no one was parked down a back of house ginnel. I asked someone pulling up if anyone parks here and she said no, this is a public car park for anyone to use.
“I use my car to visit a lot of my clients so it's important that it at least looks clean and tidy. This morning I woke up early to set off to work and discovered my car was covered in filth.
“It had a note on the front saying DO NOT PARK HERE. This was on paper and it had rained so it stuck to my car window in bits. My wing mirror was pushed forward and the plastic had cracked.
“I had veg rubbed all over the back and left stuck in my back wiper and it stunk. Wet tea bags covered the roof and had dried in stained patches. I had to go to a car wash before I went to my clients which was obviously not ideal first thing in the morning.”
While Hannah didn’t report the incident to police, she says the incident has made her more wary of where she parks in the village.
“This has happened once before and the same person didn't leave me a note, I just woke up to a box of dead flies on my car,” she continued.
“It's clearly the same person. I was pretty shocked at first that someone had put a lot of their energy into being so horrible. It's a close-knit neighbourhood; I was disappointed that someone would go down this route rather than just have a conversation.”
“Who do you think you are talking to?”
A terrified mother feared she had been disfigured with acid after she was squirted in the face during a "petty" parking feud with her neighbour, Kim Marshall.
The woman was going shopping with her six-year-old son when she was hit with a blue liquid after clashing with Marshall over her car being blocked in outside her home in Stockport.
During the incident Marshall, 41, who was reportedly drunk at 9am, was waving her arms about and shouting: ''Who do you think you are talking to?’' before squirting the mystery substance from a plastic bottle over the victim's face, hands and clothing.
The victim began to suffer a bad reaction to the substance and was admitted to hospital for treatment, Tameside Magistrates Court heard earlier this month. The type of substance thrown in her face is not known.
She told police: "This incident has terrified me not only for myself but for my young son who was also scared. This happened so close to my address, somewhere I should feel safe. Now I am thinking of moving. I was in genuine fear for my life. I had no idea what the substance was and what effect it could have on me.
"I suffer from anxiety. This incident will have a detrimental effect on that, having seen this female regularly and the stress of not knowing what the substance was that was sprayed on me."
Marshall, from Offerton, Stockport, was ordered to pay the victim £250 compensation after she was convicted of common assault at an earlier hearing. She admitted unrelated charges of possession of an offensive weapon, said to be a knuckleduster blade.
Marshall was also fined £100 and made subject to a 12-month community order with requirements she complies with six months of drug rehabilitation and 20 days of rehabilitation activity.
She was told to attend the Women’s Problem Solving Court and pay £295 in costs and a victim surcharge. She was banned from contacting her neighbour for a year under the terms of a restraining order.
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