'My neighbours park badly to hog extra space - they didn't see my revenge coming'

With millions of cars on the road, parking spaces can be a hot issue, especially if you live somewhere that doesn't always guarantee a space. But a Reddit user has exposed his neighbours who thought they could beat the system—and how it came back to bite them.

It can be frustrating to find someone parking so poorly in a space that it makes it nearly impossible to use the spot next to it. That's the twisted logic some people use to 'reserve' spots—either for someone else or to make getting in and out of the vehicle easier for themselves.

However, a 'petty' homeowner spotted a golden opportunity to teach his neighbours a lesson when they thought the rules of the local car park were up for interpretation. Taking to Reddit, the person who had enough wrote: "Years ago I lived somewhere that parking wasn't allocated, but there was a car park shared by a lot of people. If we all parked well, there wasn't an issue.

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"But, there was one family that would always park badly so that they could keep a space for each other. One day, I came home from work pretty tired and saw they had left just enough space that I could squeeze my tiny van in between the two parents' cars."

The Reddit user claimed that the space was so tight that using the doors wasn't an option, but they did have a backup plan. They were able to take petty to a new level by using the back doors of the van instead.

They continued: "I did that, having a good laugh to myself as I escaped out the back of my van. [I was] thinking to myself how they were going to have some amount of trouble getting into their cars the next day. I wonder what the conversation was when their son came home to find he had no spot reserved and the parents couldn't get out."

People were quick to respond in the comments, one said: "Well played! Hopefully they learned their lesson." Another added: "Keep parking like that! They'll figure it out soon enough!" The story didn't end there as the original poster came back to the Reddit community with an update.

They said: "One time I parked in between them again with plenty of space. I congratulated myself on such a good parking job. Plenty of space either side, very parallel. The dad came out and started moaning at me about how I was parked too close. I got out of the van easily, calmly mentioned how there was plenty of space and walked to my door. Never heard anything else."

Is it ever legal to 'reserve' parking spaces?

It is generally not legal to reserve unallocated parking bays, even if they are in front of your house. Unallocated parking spaces on public roads and car parks are available for anyone to use, and reserving one for your exclusive use is not permitted, according to Lawhive. If the parking space is on a public road, it's considered public property and subject to traffic regulations.

You cannot claim exclusive rights to a public parking spot, even if it's directly in front of your home, and it could lead to issues with parking enforcement. If a vehicle is creating an obstruction, it is illegal, and you can report it to the local council or police. Public parking enforcement is typically handled by local authorities, using Civil Enforcement Officers (CEOs) who can issue Penalty Charge Notices (parking fines) for violations on public roads and in designated public parking areas.

Private parking enforcement, on the other hand, is managed by private companies operating on private land like retail car parks or business premises. These companies can issue Parking Charge Notices for violations on their property.