To be seriously pissed off with escalating neighbour parking dispute

[Snowboarder]

FFS! It started with neighbours arguing about a single spot (belonging to neither) on the road outside their houses. One neighbour (I'll call him P) physically attacked neighbour J and spent one night in the cells. J was injured but more pride than anything. We refused to take sides which pissed everyone off as we had been friends with both and didn't want to get involved (our newborn DS was very ill in hospital - we had 'bigger fish to fry').

P's wife then started getting nuisance emails/ calls and numerous mortgage applications etc in her name through the post and had to change her phone number and email. She also got several suspicious flat tires.

This morning it transpired that J's wife's car had been vandalised - keyed all the way down the side. Obviously J & wife think P is responsible. Again, police were called but no one saw anything.

Both P & J are grown up, educated & (so I thought) 'nice' people with children and families. They used to be friends with us and each other.

It is all so pathetic and upsetting. I am seriously considering buying a banger with 6 months tax and test to leave in 'that' parking spot to make the point that no one actually owns it and we've (the neighbours) have all had enough. We shouldn't have to worry about assault, bad feeling and mindless acts of vandalism over fucking parking, should we?

My best advice is to STAY OUT OF IT.

I think you should stay out of it, before they turn on you

I know I should. The last thing I want to do is get in the middle (hence the not taking sides before) but seriously, it's getting ridiculous now. I am pregnant, therefore perhaps more sensitive to that kind of thing than normal.

Stay out of it - we had this with a dispute between neighbours over whose penis was in who's vagina and it escalated to criminal damage, vandalism, assault, and making threats to kill. One set were a policeman and a nurse and the other side own and run their own business, so none of them are exactly the cast of Shameless but it was horrendous. We just kept our heads down and mouths shut and steered clear until it eventually all blew over when one lot moved.

I wish they'd both bloody move. Worst thing is we WERE really good friends at one point (BBQs, nights out, even a Centreparcs break). Now it's all so unpleasant. I could ALMOST understand if there was some hide-the-sausage involved... But to be at out and out war over parking FFS!

Stay well out of it.

We had mad neighbours like this where we used to live, as soon as we moved in we were told that a particular space was "theirs" as they had "lived here the longest". They hadn't, and we never took any notice.

It could be quite amusing to watch their frustration if someone did park in 'their' space, lots of wheel spinning and revving as they reversed to park elsewhere, and if it was a visitor, it didn't matter what time of day or night, within minutes of the visitor leaving, one of them would be out to move the car.

We and several other neighbours had our cars damaged by them, keying, letting down tyres etc, till I phoned the council and asked them to come up and point out to everyone that technically the 'parking' was still listed as a children's playground so no-one should be parking there !

I think there are a few forums dedicated to 'neighbours from hell' - you won't be surprised to hear that the parking 'ishoo' is one of the most common.

I have no idea why people get so precious about it ? It's a piece of metal, there's a place to park it, so do it ?

I never will understand it.

It is probably about other stuff and the parking diagreement, set them off. Neighbours are people who just happen to live next door to us. It is rare these type of friendships are a good idea.