Bad parking proves costly

A man was unable to leave for work after the entrance to his drive was blocked by a motorist.

Mr Jonathan Slatter’s home on Lover’s Lane, Newark, is accessed through a gate on to the road.

His exit is often obstructed but this time he could not get his car out to drive to work — costing him a day’s pay.

“I am not only money down from being unable to go to work but it’s also the worry that if there was an emergency I wouldn’t be able to rush off,” Mr Slatter said.

“It has happened several times in the past week, but this particular car went even further so it was literally impossible to get out of my driveway.

“Sometimes I have to do like a 30-point turn just to get off the driveway.”

Mr Slatter left a message on a piece of card on the vehicle’s windscreen explaining his predicament and frustration.

Mr Slatter called Nottingham-shire Police who offered to have the car towed away.

But Mr Slatter declined the offer because he did not want to escalate the matter further and did not want the driver to return and fear the car had been stolen.

“I would feel awful if they came back from a long day at work and their car wasn’t there, but they haven’t had the decency to think about other people,” Mr Slatter said.

“People need to think more carefully about where they park, and not stop somebody having rightful access to their own house.

“The council needs to do something and take control.

“If that means putting yellow lines on the road then it has to be done because people have to be able to access their own home.

“I not only missed out on money by not going to work, I had to walk into town twice to get jobs done.”

The driver returned to their vehicle while Mr Slatter was outside his property and he said the driver was mortified and very apologetic.

Mr Slatter said the problem of inconsiderate parking was a habitual one on Lover’s Lane and something needed to be done about it.