Lying coppers had neighbour’s car TOWED in bitter row over parking
TWO lying cops who had their neighbour's car towed in a bitter row over parking have been blasted by their bosses.
Sergeant Samantha Hague and PC Christopher Bowker were "forced to the end of their tether" in a long-running spat over a space outside their home.
But a Greater Manchester Police disciplinary panel ruled the pair, who were in a relationship and lived together, lied in a bid to have a car seized and towed away.
Now the couple have been told they're on their final chance with the force after the panel reached a finding of gross misconduct.
Sgt Hague and PC Bowker had returned home from a night out to discover their neighbour's VW Golf "intentionally obstructing" one of their bays, reports.
PC Bowker managed to get around the car to park his Mini - and then called the police, claiming he and Sgt Hague needed to get out soon to go to work.
on motors
He asked for assistance in removing the car - and when asked if he knew who owned the Golf, claimed he didn't.
Several hours later, Sgt Hague called non-emergency line 101 to say she was still being blocked in, and hadn't been able to drive out to get to work.
Instead, she claimed she'd got a lift in.
The neighbour's car was then towed away.
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She later told the panel she'd made the call before leaving home at all, and ended up taking her boyfriend's car into the station.
However, it was eventually found she'd lied "in order to exaggerate the difficulty" it had caused her "out of frustration".
It was found she'd "shown a lack of integrity", while PC Bowker had also lied when he said he didn't know who the owner of the Golf was.
However, the panel ruled that the neighbour had acted in a "provocative" way that "would have caused annoyance to any reasonable person".
It was also found that neither officer had planned to lie in advance.
The report said the pair acted in a way that was "deliberate and intentional" - but they were "perfectly within their rights to call the police and entitled to expect some action to be taken".
'PROVOCATIVE'
"Where they went wrong was in withholding information about the owner’s identity," the report said.
"The panel was satisfied that neither PS Hague nor PC Bowker pose a threat to the public they serve.
"They each told a lie, in emotional circumstances, of a kind which did not lead the panel to conclude either officer has a propensity to be dishonest or untruthful."
Although there is no information on the set-up of the parking bays in the report, rules are clear when it comes to leaving a vehicle outside another person's home.
There is no law to say you have the right to park outside your own house - unless you have a designated parking space.
In terms of on-street parking, anyone is allowed to park outside your house, as long as there are no parking restrictions.
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If your street issues parking permits, anyone with one will be able to park anywhere along the road.
Drivers may be tempted to save the spot outside their house using a wheelie bin or cones.
However, this can be classed as an obstruction in the road and you may end up being reported to local council or the police.
There is a bizarre loophole which means anyone can park on your driveway.
There is no law to say someone cannot park on your driveway, even if you haven't let them do so.
The driver of the car can be classed as trespassing on your property.
However, trespassing is classed as a civil offence, not criminal, so the police won't have any power to make an arrest.
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If a car parks on your drive, it is technically on private land meaning local councils cannot enforce anything.
Local councils have the right to move abandoned cars both on public and private property, but if the car is insured, taxed, has a valid MOT and isn't in any dangerous condition, it's unlikely that the council will move it off of private land.