'Neighbour parks van across drive - even if I pop out for 5 mins it's there'

A homeowner has shared their aggravation over a neighbour who stubbornly parks his van at the end of their driveway and shows irritation when asked to move it.

Venting their exasperation on Reddit, the distressed resident wrote: "The first day we moved in, he was parked in our drive, we kindly asked him to move and thought that would be that. However since then, he often parks in front of the drive and on the pavement, restricting our access.

"I've spoken to him several times in addition to his girlfriend/wife, he seemed annoyed at being asked and continues to do so. I've taken to parking my car on the road, however having popped out for 5 minutes just now he's come back and blocked me again. There's ample room for him to move back.

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"I've reported to Birmingham council 100s of times but obviously they've done nothing. I own my home but believe them to be renting. Should I contact their estate agent? Landlord? Or any other thing I could do to get them to stop blocking my access?".

Suggestions flooded in for dealing with inconsiderate neighbours - one of the cheeky tips was an early wake-up call. A user admitted, "Wake him up at 3am because you need to go and get bread."

Which got this reply: "This is absolutely the way. We used to live in a house that had a garage block, and most of the neighbours were rentals. Every time new people moved in they would block me in. I used to leave home at 5:30 to go to the gym. It only ever needed one early morning wake up call for them to get the message."

Another shared their success story: "This works, can confirm. Got home at about 04:00 to find neighbour blocking my drive, had a trailer so could not park elsewhere. Leaned on his doorbell and woke the whole house, never did again."

On the subject of taking it further, a Reddit user queried, "You contacted the police? This might count as antisocial behavior if its a constant issue."

In terms of the law the Ask the Police Website, which is created by the Police National Legal Database), a national organisation managed by West Yorkshire Police, said the person could be breaking the law - if the local council has adopted the Civil Parking Enforcement ruiles.

It said: "If the vehicle is blocking access to your driveway you should first make enquiries with the neighbours to see if they know who the car belongs to, so they can move it. In most areas local councils have now taken on responsibility for enforcing parking provisions under what is known as Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE). Under CPE, it's an offence to park a vehicle that blocks a dropped kerb driveway. You can check if your local council has taken on CPE via the link below:

GOV.UK - CPE List

"If your council has taken on CPE, you will usually need to report vehicles that are obstructing a dropped kerb directly to them – you can contact them via the link below:

GOV.UK - Find your local council

"If your local council hasn't taken on CPE, you will need to contact your local police force. The police/council policy for dealing with such matters may vary between forces/councils. Some police forces may only attend if your car has been blocked in and you cannot get out."