A raging home owner believes her driveway is being used by airport fraudsters after a mystery car parked outside her home for five days.
Debbie Flynn and her partner Leon discovered the silver Vauxhall Mokka outside her garage, which is very close to Birmingham International Airport.
The mum was left dumb-founded by the incident and called police, who confirmed the car had not been stolen.
However, police also confirmed the couple are powerless to move the offending vehicle as it’s a civil matter, report Mirror Online.
Debbie's house is just five miles from the airport and she reckons her driveway has been sold to a holidaymaker through a fraudulent parking app.
Debbie told Birmingham Live : “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.”
She continued: “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**s 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 driveway is part of a property, anyone parking on it technically counts as trespass.
This 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.
Debbie added: “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. 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.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
