As electric vehicles become more and more popular among drivers, the demand for charging bays to be placed in popular parking spots is skyrocketing.
But one man from Croydon, South London, has been left fuming after an EV charging bay was put in place down his road - as his neighbour keeps parking their hybrid car in the space and leaving it there permanently, meaning no one with an electric vehicle can actually use the charging port.
Billy Gater took to his local Facebook page, South Norwood Net, to vent his frustrations at the selfish motorist, as he said they were treating the bay like their "own personal parking space" and not considering others who may need to charge up their cars, the Express reports.
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He wrote alongside a picture of the Kia Optima parked in the bay: "This car persists in staying on this charging point in St Luke’s Close in Addiscombe for 4 to 5 days at a time. It's being treated as his own personal parking space."
And other locals were equally as frustrated with the driver's actions, as several said there should be time restrictions put in place to limit how long a car can spend in an EV charging bay.
One person wrote: "Looks like we need some sort of time limit on-street charging spots."
While another said: "It should be a time-restricted bay."
And a third wrote: "Selfish inconsiderate people! I don’t know how long it takes to charge, but clearly, some rule needs to be established."
However, other commenters pointed out the owner of the vehicle is "well within their right" to park there if the car is correctly taxed and insured, as there are no laws preventing them from doing so.
To which another replied: "Legally, you're right. Utterly selfish to prevent others from charging their vehicles, though."
Charging spots are becoming increasingly sought-after as sales of electric vehicles have risen 75% in the UK over the past year - and with the government set to put a ban on all new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, the lack of charging bays is set to become an increasing headache for motorists.
According to research by British Gas, only 21 of the 400 councils in the UK currently offer access to free charging bays for electric vehicles, with more urged to "play their part" in supporting the transition to ditching petrol and diesel engines.
Lucy Simpson, the head of EV enablement, said: “The latest figures released today demonstrate the need for all UK councils to play their part in supporting the transition to electric vehicles.
“Currently, we have 21 progressive councils that have decided to support local EV adoption, so we would expect a greater uptake of EVs to come through in these areas than in councils where it is expensive to charge."
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