A mum was furious to find a mystery car parked on her driveway, which has now been there for five days. Debbie Flynn, who lives within five miles of Birmingham Airport, believes her driveway has been fraudulently sold to a holidaymaker through a parking app.
Debbie and her partner Leon woke up to discover the silver Vauxhall Mokka next to her garage off Outmore Road, Garrett's Green. The mum-of-two says that although she has contacted the police, she cannot get the car removed from her property.
Debbie said West Midlands Police confirmed the Vauxhall is not stolen but said they are powerless to move it as it's a civil rather than criminal matter, Birmingham Live reports.
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"It's like the car just dropped out of the sky," she said. "It's a complete mystery. We don't understand how or why this has happened but as the owner hasn't returned all week, we suspect it's due to someone selling a space on my drive close to the airport."
"We went to bed about 10.30pm on Tuesday night (April 12) and when my partner woke the next morning, it was parked on our drive," added Debbie. "The cheeky g*ts opened my gate and parked it and shut the gates after leaving it on the grass.
"The police officer who came to see us said he had never seen anything like this in all his years. I am fuming because there is no law to stop anyone parking on your drive.
"It's totally legal so the police can't help. Yet if we try and move it and damage it, then we would have committed a criminal offence. The kids can't even play outside on the drive now, in case they kick a ball or something and accidentally damage it."
Debbie has put out an appeal on Facebook but nobody has come forward to claim the vehicle. She has chained up the tyre so if and when the driver returns, they will have to knock on her door and explain why they parked there.
"Police said there are parking apps used by scammers who advertise unsuspecting people's drives as parking spaces and charge the car owners a fee," said Debbie. "I want answers - when, how, why and who did you pay?
"We just have to sit and wait for the owners to return. It’s an absolute joke. I'm furious and disgusted that any Tom, Dick and Harry can park on your drive and you can't do a thing about it."
Because a car driveway is part of a property, someone parking on your drive technically counts as trespass, which is a civil offence and not criminal, explained John Charnock, of Stress Free Car Rental. He has also said that if a car has an up-to-date MOT, tax, insurance and is not in a position where it could cause danger to anyone around, the council is also powerless to move it.
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