Suspected holidaymakers parked their car on the driveway of a mum-of-two's home near one of the UK's busiest airports - and there's nothing she can do about it. Debbie Flynn and her partner Leon woke up to discover the silver Vauxhall Mokka next to her garage, but have been told by police that is it a civil matter.
Debbie, who lives in Garrett's Green, five miles away from Birmingham International Airport, believes her drive has been sold to a holidaymaker through a parking app by fraudsters, reports Birmingham Live. She called West Midlands Police, who told her the Vauxhall is not stolen so they are powerless to move it.
Debbie said: "It's like the car just dropped out of the sky. It's a complete mystery. We don't understand how or why this has happened but as the owner hasn't returned all week, we suspect it's due to someone selling a space on my drive close to the airport. We went to bed about 10.30pm on Tuesday night and when my partner woke the next morning, it was parked on our drive.. "The cheeky g*** opened my gate and parked it and shut the gates after leaving it on the grass.
"The police officer who came to see us said he had never seen anything like this in all his years. I am fuming because there is no law to stop anyone parking on your drive. It's totally legal so the police can't help. Yet if we try and move it and damage it, then we would have committed a criminal offence. The kids can't even play outside on the drive now, in case they kick a ball or something and accidentally damage it."
Because a car driveway is part of a property, someone parking on your drive technically counts as trespass, which is a civil offence and not criminal, explained John Charnock, of Stress Free Car Rental. He has also said that if a car has up-to-date MOT, tax, insurance and is not in a position where it could cause danger to anyone around, the council is also powerless to move it.
Debbie has put out an appeal on Facebook but no-one has come forward. She has chained up the tyre so if and when the driver returns, they will have to knock on her door and explain why they parked there.
"Police said there are parking apps used by scammers who advertise unsuspecting people's drives as parking spaces and charge the car owners a fee," said Debbie. "I want answers - when, how, why and who did you pay? We just have to sit and wait for the owners to return. It’s an absolute joke. I'm furious and disgusted that any Tom, Dick and Harry can park on your drive and you can't do a thing about it."
