New neighbours!

[Lootman]

a dozen of these lovely people surrounded the van and proceeded to 'bounce' it out of the car park. Quite funny to watch and very effective - not so nice for the van, it's contents and the vans owner.

Way back in my youth I remember a bunch of us picking up the rear end of a Mini and moving it. They only weighed about 1,000 pounds, so the rear end was maybe half of that. Easily doable.

[stewamax]

Way back in my youth I remember a bunch of us picking up the rear end of a Mini and moving it.

Just so. Back in 1965 there were four of us (young; male) in a Mini busy tootling along - until the Mini had a puncture. Three held the offside rear up while I changed the wheel. It took about four minutes: not quite F1 pit-crew standard but very efficient.
(The weight at the rear of Minis was mostly sub-frame and suspension, and Mini sub-frames were mainly composed of holes with a light covering of rust, so lifting the rear up was no great feat.)

[chas49]

Moderator Message:
The discussion of how to move a car, or how to park it is, I think, off-topic for Legal Issues. Can this be resumed on the Cars etc (https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewforum.php?f=58) board? (chas49)

[Infrasonic]

On the Police towing front, here's a link to an article where a blocked drive resulted in a car being towed...https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/d ... g-13256849

[stevensfo]

Finding a small van parked in what should have been an empty car park, about a dozen of these lovely people surrounded the van and proceeded to 'bounce' it out of the car park.

Funnily enough, I saw this happen only a few weeks ago. Some idiot at Milan Malpensa airport had parked so far into the road just where it turns, that the buses couldn't pass. (Italians LOVE parking in stupid places!!) After one minute of waiting and fuming, the bus driver and assorted passers-by bounced it to one side.

Steve

[didds]

let all four tyres down. It gets stuck there a while - but its ain't moving anyway.

didds

[quelquod]

I always leave my car in gear - reverse if facing downhill, 1st if facing uphill.
ten0rman

This is one of those odd snippets of advice that one reads from time to time though less often now. Engine braking is greatest in the lowest gear, usually reverse (though YMMV), whether the vehicle is trying to roll forwards or backwards.

[Lootman]

I always leave my car in gear - reverse if facing downhill, 1st if facing uphill.
ten0rman

This is one of those odd snippets of advice that one reads from time to time though less often now. Engine braking is greatest in the lowest gear, usually reverse (though YMMV), whether the vehicle is trying to roll forwards or backwards.

In San Francisco, where people park on impossibly steep hills, there is no legal requirement to leave the car in gear. Rather the law is that if the gradient is more than 3% (and some streets there have a grade of over 30%), then the front wheels must be turned in (if parking downhill) and turned out (if parking uphill):

https://www.sfmta.com/blog/san-francisc ... -important

[killergorilla]

Someone already suggested this but I think the best approach is to ask them to move the car so you can get out. Even if you don't need to get out, pop to the shops or out to get a paper anyway. Smiles and obsequious politeness with every request.
If every time they park across the drive they are asked politely to move they'll soon get the message that it's a right old pain and park elsewhere. This only works if you're super friendly 'sorry to bother you but...' and also if you routinely leave it 15-45 mins from parking, otherwise it's obvious what you're up to. I'd aim to ask them to move about 75% of the time.
As for the kids, there's nothing you can do. It's up to the parents how late their kids stay up. However you could suggest to the mum in polite conversation that you overheard that a registered sex offender had moved into the neighbourhood. That would probably have her bring them in after dark.
Any escalation, legal, rhetorical or through neighbours will certainly end in your life becoming worse. Avoid at all costs. Neighbourhood disputes can ruin your life.
Don't let the tyres down or you'll have the police coming to you instead.
KG

[killergorilla]

two young kids in tow..... unsupervised until after 8pm....Should they be playing out at that time of night at that age?

One other observation. there's quite a bit of judgement laden in the language.
Is there anywhere else for the kids to play nearby?
As a single mum I'm guessing she's glad to have a few moments to herself whilst the kids play outside, perceiving them to be relatively safe. It sounds like you guys are looking out for them at the least.
I remember when growing up my brother and I played in the street a lot. Neighbours would often complain but there really wasn't anywhere else reasonable to play. The neighbours who did best out of it were the ones who were nice to us. They looked out for us, didn't mind the ball going in their garden sometimes, tolerated the occasional inconvenience as part of living with others, even offered sweets on occasion.
Guess what....as teenagers those older folks were the ones whose snow we dilligently shoveled from their drives. They were the ones we went to the shops for and looked in on to make sure they were OK. The misanthropes we left to fend for themselves.
Just a thought

[quelquod]

True enough, we played football tie and cricket in the street as there was nowhere else to go. Only 1 car in my street in those days though and most deliveries were by horse and cart . Most neighbours tolerated the nuisance, because most neighbours had children who did likewise.

[didds]

Don't let the tyres down or you'll have the police coming to you instead.
KG

true.,

Of course they have to catch you doing it.

Or the kids from another street you've paid to do it.

Via your contacts in another part of town.

I think I read too much Frederick Forsyth when I was young.

didds

[UncleEbenezer]

Don't let the tyres down or you'll have the police coming to you instead.
KG

true.,
didds

Really? Is that a police matter?

IF you slash or otherwise destroy them then that's presumably criminal damage. But if you just let them down by releasing air from the valves without damaging them?

[didds]

TBH I always believed it was "criminal damage" but have no reference for that. UE has a decent query there!

Just found this online FWIW:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/top ... &t=1380182


didds

[DiamondEcho]

I always leave my car in gear - reverse if facing downhill, 1st if facing uphill.
ten0rman

This is one of those odd snippets of advice that one reads from time to time though less often now. Engine braking is greatest in the lowest gear, usually reverse (though YMMV), whether the vehicle is trying to roll forwards or backwards.

I'd a girlfriend who lived in leafy London NW3 back in the 80's. She had a 'getting on a bit' automatic Volvo hatchback and one day we street-parked it in front of her parents home; hand-brake on. IDK if it was additionally 'in' or 'out' of gear.
Next morning we learned the hand-brake had apparently disengaged, the car had rolled backwards 30/40/50 metres down the hilly road, before suddenly 1/2-U-turning, crossing the pavement, and demolishing the front wall of a front garden to a neighbours house, and writing off the car.

As a result I'd ALWAYS park a car in gear, esp. if parked on any kind of incline!

[chas49]

Moderator Message:
The discussion of car parking, letting down tyres, children playing out in the old days etc is seriously off-topic for this board, despite a previous 'warning' on this. Unless there is more that is properly a practical legal issue, please consider this topic closed. I won't lock this yet just in case.
(chas49)