Dad outraged as stranger parks on family driveway near airport for days
Living near an airport might be handy in some ways, but when it means people park on your driveway for days on end, it can be a real pain.
Usually there's an understanding among neighbours that you shouldn't park on someone else's driveway, so when a complete stranger left their car on engineering lecturer Zekarias Haile's driveway, he was less than pleased. To make matters even worse, the owner of the car didn't come back for days.
Zekarias Haile, who lives near Manchester Airport, claimed he had to wait four days before the driver came back to collect his vehicle. According to the homeowner, the rogue car was left by holidaymakers who were jetting off from the airport, where parking is very expensive.
Zekarias Haile was angry, but the police said it wasn't a crime (MEN Media)
He wouldn't rent his driveway out, even if he was paid (STEVE ALLEN)Zekarias, 51, lives five minutes away from the hub in Woodhouse Park, Wythenshawe, with his wife and two children, was furious because the car was restricting the family's access to the garden and bins.
The homeowner, who is a lecturer in Engineering at Wakefield College told the Manchester Evening News back in 2022: "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."
'I left scathing notes on my neighbour's car parked in worst possible place'
The dad called the police at the time, but they said it wasn't a criminal offence so they couldn't do with anything about it. Zekarias' car, which he was forced to park on the road, wasn't being blocked so their hands were tied during the incident last year.
However, the dad was still fuming that the stranded vehicle was restricting their access. 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 lecturer explained that he has become aware of rogue parking companies operating in the area, where the family have been living for 14 years. They suspected that the Range Rover could have had something to do with one of those.
He explained at the time: "A lady who was out the front when it was left told me the driver was wearing a high-vis 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."
Parking around one of UK's largest airports has been a controversial topic. In 2016 the Manchester Evening News led an investigation into dodgy parking firms arranging to leave holidaymakers' vehicles in fields and pub car parks. This lead to a massive crackdown, but the problem has creeped back.
The residents of Wythenshawe and holidaymakers themselves have faced problems due to the parking situation at the airport. Parking at Manchester Airport isn't the cheapest, forcing flyers to look for cheaper short-cuts.
Several Wythenshawe residents have complained about people parking outside their houses (Manchester Evening News)Some homeowners have even taken advantage of this by renting out their driveways for a quick win. However, Zekarias has said he would never rent out his driveway, even if he was offered payment.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed at the time that the matter was not a criminal offence, but that the homeowners could approach the council and take civil action. A spokesperson for Manchester Airport told MEN about the parking situation: "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."
'I parked on the white lines outside school - I don't think I'm in the wrong'
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