Driver finds angry note on windscreen after parking ‘inconsiderately’ close to house but he says it’s his NEIGHBOUR who needs driving lessons – so who’s in the right?
- EXCLUSIVE: Neither resident will admit they’re in the wrong in the parking crisis
A quiet Derby neighborhood has been plunged into a parking fueled cold war of microaggressions after a spate of notes have been left on cars due to ‘inconsiderate’ parking.
A resident says she’s been driven mad by poor parking in her narrow street which blocks her from reversing into her corner rear drive and proudly left a note berating one culprit – only for him to mock her on social media branding her ‘ridiculous’ and insisting she needed driving lessons.
But the woman, a semi retired NHS mental health complaints officer, has now hit back at the man visiting one of her neighbours, saying: ‘I am not a bad driver but the angle of the parked car restricted my view.’
She admitted: ‘I’m not looking for any aggro but I wrote a note – it was not a snotty one but politely worded. I was just pointing out that I was being blocked from entering my drive by his parking but he was so defensive.’
A bemused Lliam Green then shared the letter on his Facebook and showing photos of the single drive he was accused of blocking in Spondon, Derbyshire, last Saturday afternoon which was ‘completely unblocked.’
The residents desperate message led her to be mocked on social media
Lliam Green shared a photo of his parking, which he says did not leave the driveway inaccessible
Mr Green claims the drive was ‘completely unblocked’ and that he left plenty of space to get in
A resident says she’s been driven mad by poor parking in her narrow street which blocks her from reversing into her corner rear drive
The web develop, 36, claims he was ‘filled with dread’ when he spotted a note on his BMW windscreen after visiting a pal, saying it was ‘ridiculous’ and claims the homeowner, he did not know, had ‘complete access’ to their driveway and ‘should take driving lessons’ if they couldn’t use it.
His remarks, which have gone viral, have divided opinion among his followers with many joining in the ‘who is right and who is wrong’ parking debate – with many accusing him of being the ‘ignorant’ one!
The homeowner, who has lived in the pleasant Victorian street on the outskirts of Derby for decades, had not idea her note had sparked such a furore until MailOnline informed her.
In an exclusive interview at her home with this week the woman, who asked not to be named, agreed that whilst offending car was not parked across the entrance to her drive it still caused a problem.
She told her parking in the residential road behind her large detached house – Coxon Street – was a ‘nightmare’ and that even emergency vehicles were sometimes blocked from entering.
She even confessed to have left a couple of notes in the past on other poorly parked cars and as many of her neighbours had done too.
The small roads make it hard for vehicles to pass each other in the area
Parking in the area has long been a contentious issue
As locals rallied around to back her for ‘doing the right thing’ in the latest parking wars episode, the woman told our reporter: ‘
She told how she always reversed her Nissan Qashqai into her drive – at the rear of her property which is on a corner and surrounded by three roads – for easy access out as a huge telegraph pole and hedge partially blocked her view.
The woman, who lives alone, said: ”I am not a bad driver but the angle of the parked car and the restricted my view as there is also a large telegraph pole outside, which the car driver should have seem and taken into account.’
She explained: ‘Parking is a regular occurrence here, and the pole is part of the problem.
‘I have to go up the road Spondon and turn right into Coxon Street where my drive is situated, and is very tight, drive along the road where cars are often parked on both sides for those not having off street parking, turn around in the cul-de-sac, then drive back down to reverse into my drive.
‘Whilst the drive may look like a blank space there is not a lot of wiggle room if a car, like last Saturday, is parked right outside, and it was a few inches over my drive.
‘I didn’t recognise the car but I wrote a polite note and put it on the windscreen. It simply said ‘Please park more considerately. You have made it impossible to access my drive.’
She signed it off with her houses number.
She said: ‘It wasn’t snotty, nasty or aggressive, but it sounds he got very defensive if he had to post about it. I was just pointing out politely. I can’t believe how this has escalated!
‘Parking around here is an ongoing problem and this is not the first time it has happened. And my house is right on the corner.
‘You have to see the layout to know. On the face of it he wasn’t parked straight over my drive so thought he had done nothing wrong but his car blocked my view.
‘It’s not as if I haven’t got anything better to do than look out of my window and moan about the parking.
‘I am semi retired but still working and am coming and going all day, and it is annoying to get back home and thinking b***s I can’t get in my drive.
‘Other neighbours leave notes on cars, one of them has a stack of printed laminated notes ready.’
Dad-of-two Lliam from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ridiculed her letter and driving skills
Dad-of-two Lliam from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, who had parked his BM for three hours with his boot in line with the offended woman’s drive, ridiculed her letter and driving skills.
He whinged: ‘I think it’s ridiculous. There’s a completely open driveway that’s free to get into. I think they were being excessive and a bit over-protective about a street that we all pay our council tax for.
‘As I got into the driver’s seat I saw the letter on my window so as I got out and read it I got a bit of dread. I thought I’d made something difficult for someone and I wouldn’t like that at my own house but as I looked at the house I just had a chuckle to myself.
‘I just had a right laugh thinking ‘impossible access’ is a bit far.
‘I can appreciate it can be a bit frustrating but I could see they had complete access so I didn’t know what the problem was.’
Lliam said he considered knocking on the angry resident’s door to apologise but his kids were tired so he decided against it.
His posts – not seen by the householder – caused a flood of comments with some jokingly questioning if they planned to park a tank or a plane.
But many suggested he was at fault and had been ‘ignorant’ as Google Maps images show it could have made it difficult to enter and exit the driveway onto such a narrow road.
One commented: ‘They are going to struggle getting on the drive from the left. Personally, I think you’re in ignorant t**t parking like that.’
Another chipped in: ‘Slightly ridiculous claim that they can’t get in or out. But they have a point if they want to turn right out of their drive.’
A third pointed out: ‘Everyone assumes it’s the resident who can’t access their drive. They maybe waiting on a delivery of building materials or having work done that needs clear access.’
Another added: ‘Impossible is a bit of a stretch but it would irritate me if it’s frequent.’
Neighbours of the woman have told how parking is a ‘massive problem’ and they are continuously battling with council to put in double lines or permit parking – and agreed she was right to write a note.
Sales manager Jim Bradley told MailOnline: ‘We have no end of trouble with cars parking here and sometimes ambulances and fire engines are blocked or struggle to get through.
‘The safest thing would be to have yellow lines on the corner and part of the road, or permits.
‘The resident who put a letter on a windscreen had every right. I am always putting polite notes on cars.
‘I’ve even gone to the council to ty and get something and started a WhatsApp parking group called The Broxer Councl, made up of the street names.’
‘We have one of the oldest streets in the village. ‘
Jim, 42, who benefits from off street parking but said his visitors had problems parking, added: ‘I’ve petitioned for permits at a cost of £25 but some people here have two or three cars so that’s a lot of money.
‘We’re always complaining about the parking but the council does nothing.’
Hi pal and fellow neighbour Colin Blount said: ‘Im sick of the parking here, it is a massive problem.I don’t have off street parking so have to use the road and it needs some restrictive lines or permits.
‘We’re only a couple of miles from Derby’s ground at Pride Park and on Saturday match days fans park in our street and nearby ones, jump on two buses for two quid, and fair play to them.’
The self employed floor layer added: ‘The other day a fire engine couldn’t get down the road.’
Neighbours of the woman have told how parking is a ‘massive problem’ (Pictured: Jim Bradley (left) and Colin Blount (right))
Jackie Boole admits bad driving is a regular occurrence along the road
Jackie Boole, who lives next door to the woman who slapped the note on the BM and who also has a rear drive, said: ‘Bad parking is a regular occurrence here and some vehicles park on the pavement or block others in.
‘It is very dangerous particularly at school run time and forces people into a blind movemen’
‘Pushchairs and wheelchairs are forced onto the street and sometimes home delivery vans can’t get the house, and have to park up the road while householders have to carry their goods or have them wheeled down in a trolley.’
She added: ‘I have left polite notices in cars, just telling drivers to be aware of the dangers they are causing.
‘I don’t want to be unneighbourly but some people need to be told, and the lady next door was right to make her feelings known.
‘A lot of people here have two cars per house, and vehicles have to inch their way along the road sometimes scratching them on the hedges.
‘It is a lovely area here, and we are pretty amenable but strangers are not always aware of the parking problems they are causing. It is a nightmare.’
Defensive Lliam, in his viral social media posts, admitted he appreciates the corner of the street where he parked was a ‘tight spot’ but insists he was ‘happy with his parking’ at the time and ‘hasn’t lost any sleep’ over the complaint.
He wrote: ‘My car was almost exactly in line with the wall (at the side of the driveway]. They had more than enough space to get round and get onto the drive.
A quiet Derby neighborhood has been plunged into a parking fueled cold war
‘I remember thinking the hedge I had parked in front of is almost the perfect length of my car. It fit like a glove and I was quite happy with my parking.
‘I appreciate it’s a tight spot but any driver should have been able to get on and off that driveway.
‘If I’m in the wrong I’m always happy to apologise. I realise everyone has an opinion but I don’t really believe I was in the wrong. My mate assured me I shouldn’t lose sleep over it and I haven’t done!’
Lliam pointed out the cul-de-sac was often busy with parked cars as many houses don’t have their own driveway – so those who do get ‘protective’.
He posted: ‘Impossible access? She needs some driving lessons.’
One commented: ‘What are they driving? You can fit a bus through that gap!’ Liam responded: ‘ No idea but I’m thankful it wasn’t a tank.’
Another said: ‘If you can’t park a car in there you shouldn’t be driving!’ while someone added: ‘Maybe they’re waiting for a Boeing C-17 Globemaster 11 to park on their drive and need clear access. You never know!’
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