I have a really unpleasant experience to report and I wonder if it has happened to anyone else.

I just acquired a car. Since I am taking it abroad next week, I won't bother to get a Haringey parking permit until September, so I can't keep it outside my house. Instead, when necessary, I've put it now and again in the last week just outside the main zone, in Mount Pleasant Villas, which is only a couple of streets from where I live and only has a 10am-12 noon two hour restriction.

I've left it there overnight twice. The first night, some bastard let my front tyre down. Of course I assumed it was a flat and had it fixed. Then I parked it in the same place last night - and guess what? Some bastard let the other front tyre down. No damage to either tyre, just flat.

I presume someone doesn't like other people parking their car in their street.

I can't believe that anyone would be so petty, small-minded, heartless, vindictive, stupid and dangerous.

There are only about 30 houses in that stretch of road and for various reasons I have a notion who it might be - though I have no name and address. I am going to get this sicko bastard. I have a mate who lives on this street, which is helpful. I am going to put the word out - if I catch this bastard I'm going straight to the police for tampering with a vehicle. If anyone else lives up there, please put the word out that you have some very weird people living on your street.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar on this stretch of road or know who this sick individual might be? Any ideas on how to catch this evil cretin?

Eh?

Firstly, I want to point out that I agree that this sort of action is wrong and I do not condone it in any way.

Secondly, using phrases like 'I'm going to get this sicko bastard' and 'put the word out' send out a very specific message - do you mean to sound like this?

And finally to my point, I live in Granville Road which also suffers/benefits from being outside all the CPZs, with no parking restrictions whatsoever. I don't have a car but on the very rare occasion when I have used one for one reason or another (sometimes late at night) I have become so very frustrated that I cannot park on my street for love nor money because the whole street and its environ is rammed with overflow from the whole area. My neighbour was telling me that she came home at midnight the other day and she had to park most of the way down ridge road.

One morning I saw someone parking on GR who then walked all the way to fiveways and proceeded down Hanley Road seemingly on their way to work somewhere bloody miles away.

It's nice to get free parking, but some people in these free areas would like to park where they live and don't have the option of forking out for a pass to park in front of your house Mike.

If I had a car and lived where I do now I would love a CPZ in the street.

You can also get a 2-week visitor permit (intended to be if you have someone coming to stay, but you can just as well get one for a car you're using yourself for a short time). Probably too late to be of benefit to MfL, but I only recently found out about them and it saves on the nonsense of sticking loads of two-hour scratchcards on a car.

If I had a car and lived where I do now I would love a CPZ in the street.

It's a pretty clear strategy for councils to get you to 'demand' a CPZ.

1. Start a CPZ in a few streets.
2. Some people park their cars in the next street along instead of getting a permit
3. The next street is 'swamped' and its inhabitants are annoyed by 'freeloaders' parking in 'their' street.
4. They 'demand' a CPZ - or at least accede to council consultations.
5. See 2 and repeat until the whole of London is a CPZ.

My CPZ story is that I bought a new car before I sold my old one. I wasn't allowed to have two permits (or even a temporary one) before I got rid of it. So I had no choice but to park it in Spears Road, where it was broken into and the tax disc stolen.

Then - and here's the kicker - the council towed it for being an untaxed abandoned vehicle and tried to charge me a release fee of several hundred pounds.

So I'm a little cynical about the idea that CPZ's are for the benefits of residents.

There's a Stroud Green Residents' Association?

By the way I thought the Hornsey Jornsey story is a bit unfair - it makes me sound like a typical tight-fisted git who is just trying to avoid the car parking fees. They didn't say that I'll be taking the car abroad and may never bring it back, that I'm actually a very anti-car person who usually uses bike, bus and or Streetcar, that I'm very much in favour of the Controlled Parking Zone outside my house, and that I've paid my annual fee for the past five years....no - it makes me look like a tax dodger.

If I'd known about the two week 'visitors ticket' I would have got one of those and saved the vigilante of Mount Pleasant Villas the bother of sneaking out at midnight to let my tyres down. Ah well.

I think if you read Mr Moderator's quotes carefully, he seems to be suggesting that Mike got off lightly - a "non-member" had his tyres slashed. Wouldn't it be nice if website membership got you privileged treatment, even from local vigilantes.

Sorry, I misunderstood. Does this mean I'm allowed to threaten people?

We met one of the residents association organisers. From memory they operate mainly East of Ferme Park Road, simply because that's where they live and how much energy they have to drop leaflets. She was quite happy for us to come along despite being out of area (we haven't yet).

It does amuse me that there is a "traditional" residents association over in "East Upper" Stroud Green and this "online" group centred on the SGR.

Perhaps the Codfather will re-open as a fantastic new deli: then we can arrange a get together ...

That's alright, we're too busy playing croquet and drinking Pimms to notice.

Official Estate Agent Lingo for the alleged "East Upper" = Crouch End Heights... :(