A dad woke up to find a random person had parked a car in the driveway of his home without his permission.
Zekarias Haile, who lives near Manchester Airport with his wife and two children in Woodhouse Park, Wythenshawe, said he had to wait four days for the driver to return. The 51-year-old woke up one morning to find the stranger had parked on his property.
He doesn't know who the Range Rover belongs to but believed the owner must have been a going on holiday from the nearby International Airport. Zekarias told the Manchester Evening News : "Someone, without my permission, had put the car there and they didn’t care."
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On Thursday, March 10, the dad-of-two stepped outside to find the grey Range Rover parked on the driveway at the side of his home. The car, which blocked access to his garden and bins, remained there for four days.
Zekarias, a lecturer in Engineering at Wakefield College, said: " 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."
He called the police, who said it was not a criminal offence and there was nothing they could do as his car, which he’d parked on the road, was not being blocked in. Zekarias 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."
The family have been living in Wythenshawe for 14 years and are aware that rogue parking companies operate in the area. They suspect that whoever left the Range Rover could have been working for one of these cowboy outfits.
He added: "A lady who was out the front when it was left told me the driver was wearing a high-viz 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.
"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."
Greater Manchester Police was contacted for comment on the issue and a spokesman confirmed the matter was not a criminal offence but that the homeowners could approach the council and take civil action. The MEN approached Manchester Council for comment and to see if there are any ongoing investigations into rogue parking firms.
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Manchester Airport said: "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."
