‘Morally bankrupt’ couple slammed for blocking parked car on their driveway

A couple who blocked in a car parked on their driveway and insisted on $184 to get it back have been slammed as “morally bankrupt”.

A British couple who blocked in a car parked on their driveway and insisted the driver hand over $A184 to get it back have been slammed as “morally bankrupt”.

But police have backed Barry Newton and Zoe Hameston – and say their actions were perfectly legal.

The pair found a blue Peugeot parked without permission on the driveway of their Northumberland home in northern England last week.

They tried to track the stranger down on Facebook – but then took matters into their own hands, blocking the vehicle in with other cars.

However, the Peugeot’s owner had been the victim of a scam – and had paid via an app to book the space.

Despite that, she was forced to hand over the cash before being allowed to drive off.

When police were called to the scene, they confirmed no crimes had been committed.

Zoe Hameston and Barry Newton. Picture: Kennedy News and Media

The unlucky motorist believed she had legitimately booked the space through a parking app. Picture: Kennedy and News Media

App JustPark has now hit out at the couple for their decision to “take the law into their own hands” and impound the car.

And bosses say their response was “completely disproportionate” – as the rogue parker had fallen victim to a “potentially fraudulent listing”.

“Please remove your vehicle from my private driveway within the next 30 minutes or I’ll remove it myself,” Zoe originally warned on social media.

She and Barry then took matters into their own hands, closing their gates and blocking the end of the drive.

Barry posted again to tell the driver it would cost them £100 ($A184) to get their car – and said: “Please bring cash as I don’t accept card.”

The driver returned hours later to discover she couldn’t get to her car.

Officers were called to the Haltwhistle home over the dispute, but said they couldn’t take any legal action and Zoe and Barry were within their rights to ask for cash.

The couple posted the full story on Facebook – dividing their followers.

Some urged them to “clamp it” – while others accused them of “terrible behaviour”.

“There are apps that allow people to rent out their driveway and some scammer may have rented out yours, so the people with the car may be innocent victims too,” one said.

“Terrible behaviour to rip her off knowing she got scammed on a parking app. No shame it seems.”

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 11.45am on October 5 we received a call from a resident stating that an unknown car had been parked and left on their driveway.

“Officers subsequently identified the registered keeper of the vehicle and made contact with them.

“It transpired that the car had been parked at the address by mistake and in good faith. All parties were issued with guidance and officers are satisfied no criminal offences were committed.”

When police arrived they confirmed there was nothing they could do. Picture: Kennedy News and Media

The woman was forced to hand over the cash so the couple would allow her to drive away. Picture: Kennedy and News Media

“It is unfortunate that, in this instance, this homeowner (who is not a JustPark customer) took matters into their own hands and impounded the driver’s car and demanded a fee for its removal,” a spokesperson for JustPark said.

“We have rigorous checks in place to ensure that driveways that are advertised on our platform are done so in a proper way.

“The advert for this space was submitted to us back in 2019 and our fraud team did highlight this space as potentially fraudulent, but I can see that a number of weeks later the advert was set live – this was human error on our part and we can only apologise for this.

“Like all companies, we are sometimes the target of fraudulent activity and our fraud teams work hard to detect this and to protect our customers.”

They said the incident “escalated disproportionately” because Barry and Zoe “reacted inappropriately”.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was republished with permission