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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Joel Shooter

'I salute your patience sir. That car would be a write off if this happened to me'... Readers get creative over car left on driveway near Manchester Airport

Many of our readers were furious about a stranger leaving their car in a family's driveway near Manchester Airport, with plenty offering their own takes on how to deal with the situation.

Zekarias Haile, 51, who lives with his wife and two children in Wythenshawe woke up on a Thursday morning to find a grey Range Rover parked in the driveway of his home, with the vehicle remaining there for four days.

He believes the car belonged to someone who was flying out from Manchester Airport, suspecting the culprit to be one of the rogue parking companies that operate in the area.

READ MORE: Mum-of-two with 'zest for life' died in tragic garden accident after going for drink in sunshine

Almost all of our readers took Zekarias's side, with many suggesting he could have been more ruthless in his actions.

One person suggested: " Should have let the tyres down," while another said: " I would block it in and have multiple cameras with alarm sensors to detect them coming back for it."

Another reader commented: " Several potatoes jammed up the exhaust, would work a treat."

Others suggested attempting to move the car, with one person saying: " I would have had it towed onto the street outside house and left it there."

Another person put forward a more drastic solution, saying: " I would drag it onto a trailer, set off to a motorway bridge near Manchester Airport, drag it off the trailer and onto the hard shoulder."

But Zekaria's reaction was a more peaceful one, with one person commenting: " I salute your patience Sir. That car would be a write off if this happened to me."

They weren't the only ones applauding Zekaria's calm response, with another person saying: " What I take from this story is that Mr Haile is a very patient man."

Another reader added: " Clearly the bloke is not confrontational and that is not a bad thing, the world needs more people like that."

But not everyone saw this as a good thing, with one person commenting: " Property owner too nice for his own good. There'd either have been a skip or a large girder set in the drive if this sort of stunt happened at my house. Tyres deflated as a minimum."

A couple of readers were sympathetic towards the driver of the vehicle, with one saying: " Perhaps it was not recognised as a driveway? There's a big sign there saying 'no ball games permitted', which could have lead to someone thinking it was not private property."

Another made the point: " There are no clear signs saying nobody could park there and listing parking charges for doing so."

Let us know your thoughts on the matter in our comments section.

However, most were on Zekaria's side, with some people offering advice on how to avoid the issue reoccurring.

One person said: " Install a bollard and lock it in place when the drive is empty."

Another shared their experiences, saying: " Before we moved, we had a similar problem. We had a metal drop down post installed at the end of the drive which could be laid down when not in use or locked in an upright position when we wanted to block access.

"Worth every penny and wasn't overly expensive."

Another person offered their thoughts, saying: " He needs gates that he keeps locked except when he's going in or out. They won't be doing it then."

Some also called for the authorities to do more, with one reader commenting: " Police and the council should have taken action to protect innocent civilians/residents."

One other person added: " Manchester should do what Blackpool do. Everyone within a 5 mile area of the airport should have to have a resident's permit displayed in the car. No permit, car gets a ticket. Simple."

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