Urgent - WWBU to ask them to move their camper can out of our driveway

[bumbleymummy]

Strange situation - woke this morning to find a camper van parked at the end of our driveway. There's a note in the window with an apology saying that they are sorry to park there but they arrived late etc etc. it's a battered old thing with an Irish number plate. Do we give them the benefit of the doubt and think they'll be gone in the next hour or do we ask them to leave and risk creating a bad situation? I'm in the 'get off my land!' way of thinking but DH wants to give them an hour in case it is genuinely just a case of someone about to fall asleep and pulling into the nearest safe place. I would have thought if that was the case they would have moved on after a short nap though!

Thing is it is different in the country. People in general are more relaxed the pace of life is slower and all the other reasons city folk decide to buy and price out the locals not at all bitter in the country. SO if these Irish holiday makers are also from the country it might not occur to them to be pissed of if some-one parked just in their drive in the middle of the night in (I'm guessing) desperation.
All's well though, they did not take the piss so it's just another tale to tell. They may well be thinking 'you know what, the English aren't all bad'
Out of curiosity would you have let them had they turned up earlier and asked?

I read this whole thread, genuinely intrigued. It seems there are certain things it is acceptable to trespass and do, and some that aren't. And that the size of your own private property determines which of those things are OK.

It would seem that if you have a field and a long drive, you should accept people who have planned their journey poorly to pull up and sleep there, possibly using your land as a toilet. But having a picnic is below the belt. Unless you have so much land that you can't see them doing it, so that's alright. If you only have a small drive or a patio both camping and picnicking are a poor show.

I'm spotting inverse snobbery dribbling out all over!

Would anyone care to hazard a 'right on' way of dealing with the problem I had not too long ago? I have land (get me!) and it borders a large forest which is heavily populated with all kinds of edible wild birds. I was alarmed to notice a chap wandering round with a large gun one day. I didn't give him a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich, I didn't give him a couple of hours to see if he would go of his own accord. I rang the police. It turns out it was a neighbour's adult son, who was shooting pheasants for his tea and thought I was overreacting by ringing the police. Besides, he reckoned I shouldn't mind him shooting pheasants on my land as the pheasants are not mine and he has no land to wander with his gun on.

I've also been threatened with legal action by a trespasser because he was climbing up a ladder in my field (don't ask - the neighbour again! He's a bit odd,) and my horse, which lives in the field, scratched his bottom on the ladder knocking it over. Which apparently makes him a dangerous animal.

It does seem as though some people who don't own any more land than their own garden think that any larger parcel of land should be available for everyone to use.

As for the 'class warmongering' comment - you silly person. Stop warmongering and get out and earn enough money to buy your own bit of land if you are jealous. It's what I did (and I started from very humble beginnings.)

Oops, should add it was the right thing to do letting them stay 'til mid morningish, decent and generous. I wouldn't have gone the sandwich route necessarily either but would have got DH to banged on the door by about lunch to see what was afoot.

Incidentally growing up we had some-one parked at the bottom of our road who did drink home made mead and carve stone animals and played some sort of tin whistle.

Not surprised you called the police backinthebox

Completely different scenarios Backinthebox.

That is not a similar comparasion.
I would have called the police in the same circumstances as you. As for him not having land and you have, well that's his tough shit not yours. Sure it's your land and you don't want people wandering up and down it. I woldn't either however the OP's story is nothing like yours at all.

Why was there journey poorly planned? Do people plan to break down, get lost, get held up in traffic queues longer than they expect and end up knackered at night? Of course they don't!! These things happen and can end up having to sleep in a car over night at an unsheduled place. Idiotic fucking statement if I ever saw one.
Bloody delightful folk around here!!

I am silly. I also understand what ironic means. The educated poor are many, fear us.

Purple, no, it wasn't a VW. :) I don't think it would be too interesting a story from their side anyway. Got tired, pulled in, slept and left!

Twit, we're in NI so not English :)

I'm glad other people have had similar experiences with picnickers and the like and have felt/would feel the same way. I was starting to feel like I was going mad by not feeling the need to offer refreshments to trespassers! Anyhow, all is well, I probably was a bit too anxious about it at an early stage but I've just heard a few too many stories like Pag's to be relaxed.

Backinthebox, I am really intrigued about why someone would put a ladder up in a field of horses!

If the fella was Irish - though he might have just bought it from Ireland as he said he was getting it mended - anyway, if he was Irish, then chances are he didn't think that this was a big deal. We're Irish, living in england, and have quite a similar set up to the op in our house in Kerry. I wouldn't mind a weary traveller resting on our land, and yes, we'd bring him tay and toast in the morning and offer use of the facilities.

At our place in England he'd soon be off with the shouty toddler asking him a million questions about this that and the other!

I think to sumarise my point of view.
If I was in Backintheboxes and Pag's shoes and those that have people making an afternoon of it in their lawn I would be unhappy and get people to move on or call the police if I felt threatened.
If I was in the Op's I wouldn't be bothered and would be happy to have helped out.

A friend of mine once came home to find two complete strangers changing their car tyre on her (housing estate type) drive. She wasnt that hospitable either... and nor were they at all apologetic.

I cant understand what on earth would make anyone think that was ok?

equally to park the night somewhere or have your picnic just because you think it looks like a nice place?? it seems very weird to me.

I think I live in a similar sort of setting to Boschy - have found a number of picnicking families in our garden. Mostly they are very apologetic when we point out gently that it is private property - although I get a bit twitchy when I find them making use of our kids climbing frame and swings - but the family that were the most tricky to deal with were those who had parked in the middle of the driveway to have their picnic and didn't see why I might need them to move so that I could go out..

"but we're having our picnic"
"yes, I see that but its not only is it private property but I need to get out and I can't"
"..but we're eating..."
" yes, but I need to go out now"
"but we're still eating...."
repeat ad infinitum

Oh right, sorry did I miss that? I did wonder why some-one might be bringing a camper van to England from Ireland to be fixed though.

Oh god, we'll be in for this any day now. When bloody festival season starts and the road outside our house is nose to tail with hippies sleeping it off in their 25 year old Datsuns.

God this thread is crazy. We have a (very old) motorhome which we use as a car and go on holiday in, we used to rough camp ( never on someones drive though) but we've given it up because there is nowhere that you can park up. All car parks have no overnight signs. Why? We do no harm, take all our rubbish away and we have our own toilet as do most campers btw.
The worst situation was when my little boy was rushed into hospital I stayed with him all night phoned my dh to come and pick us up. He couldn't get a space in the hospital car park so parked the van in an estate when we came back with ds in his pjs and in my arms a harridan of a woman came rushing out shouting at us we apologised she took no notice. As we were driving away we noticed she'd pulled off one of our windscreen wipers!

Golly hopenglory that reminds me of when growing up people would pull in and picnic on our garden. They preferred to drive through our gates and onto our garden than drive into the grounds of the village hall next door - clearly visible with swings and get this PICNIC BENCHES.I suppose with big trees and pretty flowers it was a more attractive picnic area. And sometimes they would walk through the little signed and bolted gate that adjoined the two and wander around, play and eat as well. So bizarre. always 'townies'
Now accidental/emergency incidents are one thing but deliberate and getting arsey when politely told the facts and asked to move are another.

hear hear twit and hopenglory!

at backinthebox missing the "ironic" from 'class warmongering' and completely missing the point.

How ironic

I never think it's a good idea. You can't trust them when all's said and done.

I am silly. I also understand what ironic means. The educated poor are many, fear us.

Comment of the thread, surely?

Aaaanyways - the guy put a note up, his intentions were stated, so he didn't expect to pitch up at someone else's house without so much as a hey nonny no, did he?
And yes - the description of the property does make a difference. He wasn't in the way, and he wasn't near the OP's home. He still knew it was erring on the side of cheeky, so he put a note up. He really must have needed to stop.
It's not the same thing as parking up on a suburban driveway is it?

As an asides - my dh and I had a complete stranger wander into our bedroom one night while we were both reading in bed, naked. Young guy, maybe 25 or something - looking for a party, got the wrong house.
I don't know who was more scared!

Did he find a party

I came home once and two kids were playing on the trampoline at the end og my garden.
I just stood there like an arse going and doing a silent child count.

I was on hols in the states with dh and dc with another family and we rented a beach apartment. The couple we went with are astonishingly anal (which is good as we weren't trusted to do anything) and took about 75 boxes of necessities. We arrived and were all a bit at how grubby it all was, dirty sheets, pans in the sink, stuff in the fridge and a full jug of coffee with hosepipe attached in the shower (it was California).

Friends deposited boxes all over and complained and phoned up agents. We had arrived a day early.

The educated poor are many, fear us.

Sounds like you are putting your education to good use, then!

Is it me?

A full jug coffee with hosepipe attached in the shower?