A man who decided to take the law into his own hands to deter parents on the school run from parking on his street, has vowed to continue his battle - despite his homemade blockade being removed.
Derek Woodacer has been at odds with local parents and neighbours for the past three years as he believes locals should not be using his street to drop children at the near-by Mosley Common’s St John’s Primary School.
The 65-year-old said that since the road is unadopted by the council, meaning it is up to residents to pay for repairs, it should not be used for pick up or drop off. This has lead to "fights, vandalism, complaints and huge financial cost".
Neighbours have complained that Derek's homemade defences could stop emergency vehicles and bin men accessing the road. They say he has became notorious on Commonside Road - leaving some neighbours with sleepless nights due to his antics.
“I moved here five years ago and this is an unadopted road so the council is not responsible for it,” he said. “When I moved in I thought what the hell is this?" Derek told Manchester Evening News.
“The first week I saw a lot of people parking from the school. I felt a lot of abuse from parents when I told them they couldn't park there.
“We have to pay to repair the road and it costs thousands. I met every resident on the road and they told me about all the problems. There have been assaults and property damage and we wanted to get this sorted.
“This was in terms of trying to stop people parking here. I said this is not acceptable and said there is no point in repairing the road if we can’t stop people parking here.
"People who were walking past them were admiring them. They were saying ‘wow’.
“They [Wigan Council] tried to force me to remove the stuff from the highway two months ago. That is when I got the notice.
“Then it was July 19 when they came to remove it. Where that leaves me now is that I was happy to have the money [gained from selling the stuff used in the blockade].”
The technical writer is an avid collector and managed to come across planters which he put on the road alongside the speed restrictions to give them weight. But he says that he didn’t get the money from the other residents for his plans and from then on went solo in his ambitions.
But his neighbours have a different opinion on the matter. Many on the street do not believe the parking is too bad and see Derek as the problem, not the parents at the school.
Ruby Howard, who has lived on Commonside Road all her life, believes that Derek’s passion has led him to go too far. She explained that his shenanigans in the early hours have given people sleepless nights.
“Originally our road is unadopted and we own up to halfway on the road to the middle of the street and we have the school at the end,” the 24-year-old said. “For 16 years we have always had a back and forth [with the school].
“We all paid for it to be resurfaced, the parents driving up and down and he took it upon himself to put barriers in. That has led to abuse arguments with parents.
“He buys and sells for a living and he started using the space to leave his stuff. It looked awful.
“I contacted the council and have been trying to get it removed for 2.5 years. It got to the point where emergency vehicles and bin men couldn’t get through.
“Once he was told to remove the plate he started to dig the pothole even more. It has been stressful, people on the street have sleepless nights.
“At first he was alright and wanted to help with the road, I think he got a bit too passionate. He sacked everyone off and wanted to do his own thing.”
Another neighbour, who wanted to remain anonymous, gave an insight into what it has been like living next to Derek, she said: “He started first by tackling the parking by the school, he puts gas canisters in the road. It is minutes they are there dropping off, people understand and would rather children get in school safely.
“He has blocked the road before, has fights with neighbours, his mouth is disgusting. Police and council were here for hours when it was getting removed. The legislation on this road is so old, so people don’t want the stress of this. People have never done this on the road.
“He wants the attention. He made the hole bigger. He is known in the area. He said he is going to antagonise the whole street.
“It’s draining. I’ve never known anything quite like it.”
This opposition from authorities and his neighbours will not deter Derek though. He has big plans for the future, he is even looking to memorialise one of his favourite locations in the world, Lake Como in Italy.
“I have more plans in the future,” Derek continued. “The pothole now, I am going to make it into Lake COMOnside.
"I have upset enough people. But I just don’t care now. I don’t know where this leaves me with the neighbours now. This just makes me more determined to carry on.”
Paul Barton, director for environment at Wigan Council, said: “Following this issue being reported, we have worked with the resident to resolve the situation. The structures were removed, with the support of the resident, on July 19.
“We are grateful to our residents for reporting issues to us and we encourage this. Residents can report issues by visiting: wigan.gov.uk/ReportIt.”
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “I can confirm that at around 8.30am on July 19, officers received a report of breach of the peace on Commonside Road, Worsely. A man had blocked the road and obstructed drivers.
“Officers and the council attended the scene and removed all obstacles.”
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