Aside from wheelie bin wars and noise complaints, it's parking arrangements that cause the most drama between neighbours. Whether they're choosing to park in a space you often frequent, or across your drive so you can't get proper access, it seems as though people are seldom reasonable when confronted.
One man's neighbour was no exception, calling him a "bad neighbour" when he asked if he could refrain from blocking his drive as he was having building work done and needed "access for the lads doing the work."
The situation escalated so much that the man felt like he needed to call the council and "they sent a warden quickly", but the driver had moved by that point, much to the bloke's dismay.
He took to Reddit to ask "Would you park in front of someone's driveway if they don't own a car?"
The homeowner wrote: "I've recently moved into a house on a busy street. It has a dropped kerb and a small driveway. I don't have a car. Not many other houses on the street have a dropped kerb.
"Most neighbours don't block the drive, some might if stuck for space but will move it as soon as they can which I'm fine with. One recently has been parking across the drive a lot, sometimes 3-4 days at a time.
"I have some building work going on and could do with the access for the lads doing the work. I wasn't sure which neighbour to speak to (still new to the area), so I left a polite note asking not to block the drive. This was ignored."
But then the man saw his neighbour, and asked "politely" whether he could do him a favour and refrain from blocking his drive - but the neighbour didn't take kindly to the instruction.
He continued: "He angrily said it's not my personal parking space (seems to think it's his though), I don't have a car and he can park there if he likes, and he won't get a ticket.
"Also said some stuff about being a bad neighbour (first time we spoke). I said you're illegally parked and don't complain when you get a ticket.
"Annoyed, I contacted the council, they sent a warden quickly (I suppose they never pass up an opportunity to make some money), but unfortunately he drove off a few minutes before they arrived.
"Am I being a p***k about this? Even though I don't have a car, I feel like it's taking the p***. Sometimes friends and family visit and they can’t use the driveway when it's blocked.
"If he wasn't such a d**k about it, I wouldn't really have a problem with him parking there for a while if he was stuck for space and moved it when possible. Now I'm itching for him to try it again."
In the comments, many people backed the man up and said he was in the right.
One wrote: "I have to say no, you're not being a p***k. It doesn't matter whether you own a car or not, blocking your driveway is a) a d**k move and b) illegal, as you said.
"Suspect you may not have an issue on the parking front going forward now he knows you're liable to call the council… but he also sounds like a s***head who will be annoying to live near."
Another said: "It sounds like he doesn't understand the rules around dropped kerbs and thinks you're just trying to lay claim to the road outside your house. One of the police or the local council should enforce this if you contact them."
Someone else commented: "No, the only time I'd ever stop in front of someone's driveway is if there was nowhere else to stop and I had to pull over for two minutes to check a map or something.
"I'd say, legality aside, it's a pretty widely accepted thing you don't do. He pulled away because he knew he was bang out of order, he's probably pulled this bull***t with everyone and was hoping he could get away with it because you're new."
Have you got a neighbour drama you'd like to share? Email: danielle.wroe@reachplc.com
