Neighbours sat in car for hours on end with engine running. It this weird

[greenishredblue]

Names changed as could be outing

we got some new neighbours across from us about 6 months ago. A man and a women. I was talking to another neighbour and she asked if I had noticed they sit in their car for hours on end with the engine on. Now I had noticed them a few times sat in the car but though nothing if it. The car is parked outside this neighbours house a lot.

Now the neighbour has said to me DH and I have been more aware of it, especially with doing lots of work in the garden. And the fumes from the car as well have been more noticeable since we have been outside a lot. Neighbour is a bit nearer so has noticed them doing it during the day and at night as well. Usually between midnight and 6am.

Basically they sit in the car sometimes it’s the man, sometimes the women, sometimes both. The engine is running all the time (yesterday it was about 7 hours). They seem to be always on their phones and then one of them will get out go in the house and then come back out again into the car. Sometimes they will just get out of the car, walk round it and get back in.

yesterday the other neighbours husband went out and asked them to turn the engine off as his son has asthma and the car is right outside his window and was told very forcefully to mind his own fucking business.

now if it was not for the engine being on all the time I probably would just shrug and think “each to there own”. But this is very strange is it not?

Definitely think they're hot boxing in the car.

What they are doing is illegal. Keep records and report it
‘Leaving your car engine running unnecessarily while parked on a public road is an offence under Section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. You can be fined for idling, which is leaving the engine running when it's not necessary. While there are some exceptions, generally, if you're parked and the engine is idling, it's considered an offence’

Maybe their heating doesn't work in the house or it's very cold.. who knows

We need an update once the police have been and done a drugs raid!

Pop over, with a tray of tea and biscuits.

Say ' I must say you're very devoted neighbour watch members! All us on the road have put you both forward for an award. The press will be getting in touch, hope that's OK. And the community police. They said they can't wait to meet you!' Thanks! We all sleep safer in our beds'

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
omg this is so funny!!!
so dramatic!!

strange you didn’t really take any notice of them until your neighbour mentioned it!!

Also does it make my husband look like a dealer because we live in social housing and I’m lending him £20,000 to buy a new car?

🤣🤣🤣

Hot potato

Until you know why they do t I wouldn't intervene. We were sat in a carpark with engine on. When we had someone march up banging on window demanding we stop poisoning their children's lungs. They screamed at hubby over it and retreated quite fast when he wound back window down "We have blacked out windows" to show them the reason we had t on was because I was using my nebuliser in the car and needed the engine to power the power supply. Even after making it clear they suggested I use my nebuliser at home before I came out. Trying to explain the fact that I don't pick when I can and can't breathe was very hard or the fact that yes the highway code advises against idling but only if there's not a valid reason and breathing is a valid reason. I am not saying this is the reason but you don't know what is.

If only you'd mentioned a new BMW in your op!

It's the stereotypical drug dealer's car.

For 7 hours?? All hours day and night? ....I'd go for a nice long drive or something instead if I could afford the petrol they must be burning

A friend of mine does this because his wife has Alzheimer's and gets aggressive when he doesn't focus on her. All his 'me time' is in his car, it's packed with his books and paperwork!

OP's neighbours clearly aren't avoiding each other, mind you.

Oooh, good info!

PLEASE find out what they are doing, I’m desperate to know now!

Yeah. I reckon electricity has been cut off and they are charging their phones so need the power on.

Can we organise a Mumsnet stake out? Anyone got a van? BT Openreach or something we can borrow? I’ll bring a flask of coffee. We’ll need some food supplies as we could be there for hours. Perhaps a blanket as it can get pretty chilly at night and we all know that idling is against the law. Any bushes we can lurk in @greenishredblue? We will also need people positioned behind the curtains in your and neighbouring houses. We can post live updates on here. Who’s in?

I don’t understand why everyone thinks it’s drug dealing.

Exchange of packages in the middle of the night.

Why would they park on the road outside their house

If they're growing/manufacturing in the house, they need to keep an eye on it.

Grow house would be fiendishly hot and stinky indoors.

Definitely sounds like drug dealing. I used to live in an area with a lively commerce in drugs and sitting in your car for hours with the engine running was a thing. I once sat in my car for 15 minutes on a phonecall and a guy started knocking on my window - he thought I was a dealer selling drugs!

I'm not sure if the engine running is to keep cool/ warm whilst conducting business or to drown out the phone conversations if they are doing business. I'm not sure why they can't do the calls from their house (the drug dealers in my area definitely didn't live in the houses they parked outside), but the rest of their behaviour sounds like dealing.

Change your wifi name to “PoliceSurveillanceVanNo3”
Get your neighbour to do the same; but with a different Van number 😁

Bird seed on the roof

I just text my friend to tell her all her neighbours are going to assume she’s a drug dealer…

A couple of nights ago (on Friday at 1am) her cat dragged a huge live rat through the cat flap and let it loose. She lives in a huge house and has a physical disability and couldn’t catch the rat, her teenage kids are on holiday with their dad until Tuesday so she spent the rest of Friday night in her car but had to keep leaving the engine idling as past of her condition means she really feels the cold.

During the day Friday her dad tried to find and catch the rat but couldn’t, my friend stayed at her parents Friday night then decided to go home Saturday evening and hope she didn’t come across it, all went ok until during the night she saw one of the other cats acting very interested in the corner of her bedroom then heard scratching, Saturday night was also spent in the car.

Sunday her dad, BIL, Dsis and a neighbour attempted rat patrol, as they were trying to track the elusive Roland down the same cat drags in another live, large mouse and sets it free again where it runs off, now two rodents are running free in the house.
The mouse was caught but ratty is still roaming free. My friend spent the whole time (several hours) that they were on rodent duty sat in the car awaiting the good news she could go back inside - Roland is still on the loose!

My friend has gone back to stay with her parents but her neighbours are very nosy and will almost certainly be wondering why she’s been sitting in her car for hours with a steady stream of visitors, I’m surprised no one has questioned her yet. There is also the small matter of ring doorbell footage showing the same cat dragging another creature through the cat flap whilst she’s absent, hopefully it’s not another rat of the opposite sex and they aren’t making the most of the empty house and making babies!

She has 4 cats and 3 seem to feel they need to provide for her and keep her with a constant supply of fresh pray, unfortunately they often like them to be so fresh they don’t even bother to kill them first, she’s looking into a “prey detector” cat flap but they are bloody expensive!

Hopefully the saga will come to an end when her DC return home or the cats will finally put the poor beasts out of their misery. I have included a pic from the recent catch that was caught on the ring doorbell, it’s blurry but you can see that cat is carrying something a substantial size, she’s probably providing a rodent knocking shop as we speak.

I think I’d prefer drug dealers over feline rodent dealers!

I realise this has already been said a thousand times, but we had this and the neighbour was indeed a drug dealer (and it was a very shiny BMW). We knew because of the very aggressive people who started banging on their door in the middle of the night demanding money/gear.

Thankfully we were young and renting, so we moved!

This is wierd esp given the response to being asked to turn the engine off which honestly is not unreasonable.

Report them to the police - using your phone with the car engine running is a driving offence. Do it through non emergency and then call when they get in the car...

Edited - apologies, posted on wrong thread

Apologies- posted on wrong thread!!!

Not only are you NOT being unreasonable but what they are doing is illegal! It is an offence to leave the engine running when parked.