Chesterfield woman, 64, fined amidst “pathetic” parking post neighbour row

Sandy Parker was filmed pulling the retractable post from side-to-side and admitted kicking it when a parking quarrel between her and a householder next door boiled over.

Chesterfield Magistrates Court heard Parker’s neighbour had the post installed outside her home to stop the 64-year-old’s large campervan encroaching on her allotted space.

Prosecutor Neill Fawcett described how in April last year cameras set up in the adjoining property showed the defendant “waggling” the post while “trying to unlock it”.

Mr Fawcett said: “On two occasions she is seen to pull the post from side to side and in some way interfere with it - she seems to have had some sort of obsession with the post.“

He told how “initially things were Ok” between the two householders after the complainant moved into the property on Sunny Springs, Newbold, in November 2020.

Mr Fawcett said: “They would say hello to one another and were relatively friendly.

“But Mrs Parker has a large campervan and it became apparent that it was abutting into the parking space outside (the complainant’s) house.”

In a January 2021 letter Parker’s neighbour informed her of her plans to have the preventive post installed - at which point “things began to escalate”.

She asked visiting PCSOs to arrange mediation between herself and her alienated neighbour, however the court heard the defendant declined the offer.

In another incident caught on camera Parker placed a large piece of “plasterboard” over her neighbour’s kitchen window to obstruct the CCTV’s view of her while in the street.

Though Parker claimed she did so for the sake of her own privacy as she changed the battery on her campervan - which would otherwise have been filmed.

In a victim impact statement the complainant described being unable to sleep, losing weight and “constantly worrying” about the dispute.

John Wilford, Parker’s solicitor, said: “At the end of the day, we’re talking about a parking post.

“There’s been no verbal case between the two, no arguments, no threatening messages - nothing of that nature.

“There are no designated parking spots as is alleged - but as time has gone on because the number of cars people have has grown there have been a number of disputes about whether someone should be parking outside someone else’s house.”

Mr Wilford added that Parker’s neighbour had complained about his client walking in front of her home at night - along a “public right of way”.

District Judge Andrew Davison told the court: “It’s really pathetic to have a case like this before a criminal court.”

He told Parker: “You are 64 years old and there were other ways of dealing with this.

“A starting point is to think about your neighbour and whether it’s appropriate to have such a large vehicle there.”

Parker, of Sunny Springs, admitting criminal damage, was fined £250, ordered to pay £150 compensation for the damaged post, £300 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

She was also given a 12-month restraining order.

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