Couple could be fined £1,000 for using their own driveway

James and Lauren Callan, from Adlington in Lancashire, could be fined £1,000 for parking on their own driveway.

They found themselves in this bizarre position after council workers painted double yellow lines in front of their drive. Now, driving over the lines to park on their own drive means breaking the law.

James, 28, who works for Network Rail, told the Chorley Guardian that he had approached the council after the lines were painted, assuming it was a mistake. However, the council argued that because there was no dropped kerb outside the property, they were within their rights to paint the lines. The fact that the kerb hadn't changed since the property was built in 1995 held no sway.

The couple have been forced to knock down a gatepost, to widen the driveway, so they can drive around the lines to get onto the drive.

James told the Daily Mirror that the council had admitted any fines were unenforceable, because the lines were painted without consulting the homeowners.

The council told the Chorley Guardian that a consultation was underway, that it would consider the position of the lines outside this property, and it apologised for the inconvenience.

Yellow lines
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It's the latest in a long line of yellow-line-related blunders we have revealed over the years. Here are five of our favourites:

1. Earlier this month a woman from West Didsbury returned to her car to discover that it had been moved across the road by council workers, who were painting new double-yellow lines on the road. Unfortunately they moved her car onto existing double yellow lines on the other side of the road - so she was promptly given a parking ticket.

2. Meanwhile, West Sussex County Council resurfaced a road and the repainted double yellow lines down one side. However, they failed to let anyone know about the work, so there was a car parked there at the time. The council workers simply decided to leave a car-sized gap.

3. Contractors in Leeds in October 2003 came up with a different solution to the same problem when they were painting lines on Hyde Terrace. Rather than going to the bother of moving the car, they decided to paint around it - leaving the outline of the car on the road.

4. Back in April 2013 councillors in Swindon instructed contractors to clamp down on illegal parking in alleyways, by painting double yellow lines around them. The contractors arguably went too far, however, painting lines down an alleyway just 13 inches wide.

5. In March 2007, a motorist in Bewsdley, Worcester, narrowly missed getting a parking ticket, after contractors decided to lift up her car, paint the lines underneath, and move the car back.

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