Parking disputes among neighbours can rock even the most peaceful of streets, as one despairing woman has recently learned all too well.
This unnamed woman, who bought the house back in January 2021, has been left at the end of her tether after her neighbours opposite left their caravan parked up outside her house without any apparent intention of moving it.
At first, she'd thought the huge, beige caravan would only be there temporarily while her neighbours worked on it, assuming it would eventually be moved down to the bottom of the road where a number of caravans are already parked up.
However, six months on, it shows no sign of budging and she has grown tired of the sight of it every time she looks out of her window.
To make matters more awkward, she and her partner are usually on friendly terms with these neighbours, taking in each others' parcels and letting on to each other.
She doesn't want to create any tension, but she also doesn't want to look out every morning and see what has become a bit of an eyesore for the remainder of her time on the street.
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Taking to Mumsnet for advice, the exasperated woman - who goes by the username fashu - explained she lives on "a narrow residential street of terraced houses with no driveways", making things even trickier.
She wrote: "We knew parking was limited when we moved, but it's not an issue since we only have one car, and worst case scenario we could park it on the bottom of the road where there are no houses."
However, as well as being pretty annoying to look at, the caravan has also exacerbated the already limited parking situation, with the permanently stationary vehicle now "taking up the space of two and a half cars."
She continued: "Now most of the time it's a race to get a place on the street and I usually miss out because I come back later."
The anonymous woman has asked her fellow Mumsnet users for advice on how to proceed without damaging her previously harmonious relationship with her neighbours.
One person said: "It's one of those things that's legal, but they must know it is an annoyance for you. A good neighbour would be considerate of that. I would absolutely say something about it.
"To be honest, the relationship is already a bit tested, speaking isn't really going to make it worse when you're already annoyed with them."
Another suggested: "I guess you could very gently ask how is going with the caravan renovation and when it's finished does he plan to park it down the road? But it may not go well....."
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