Homeowner, 46, is found guilty of harassment after blocking the drive he shares with his neighbour

An architect who made his neighbour’s life a ‘misery’ by blocking their shared driveway more than 100 times while renovating his house has been convicted of harassment.   

David Comerford, 46, told neighbour Mark Charnock he had ‘right of way’ on the drive in Salford, Greater Manchester, repeatedly blocking it with his black Range Rover despite being asked to move. 

Comerford became so agitated with being told to move the vehicle by solicitor Mr Charnock that he said he might ‘knock his block off’ and ‘punch his face in’, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.  

Despite police arriving at his door in January 2018 over the row, Comerford carried on blocking the drive, insisting he thought his neighbour’s complaints were not ‘reasonable’.  

Mr Charnock took pictures on his mobile phone and installed CCTV to keep track of the more than 100 occasions Comerford parked blocking the driveway.

Comerford denied causing his neighbour harassment, but was convicted following a two-day trial.        

After a brief amicable period between the pair in 2017, Comerford had started works on his £500,000 house, which involved numerous vans attending outside Mr Charnock’s home.

Mr Charnock asked them to move so he could access his house at the end of the driveway, and they complied, but architect Comerford continued to park across the gates by the entrance to Mr Charnock’s property. 

Giving evidence, Mr Charnock said he put a letter on his neighbour’s windscreen to ‘clarify’ that he was a solicitor, and had been taking pictures of the vehicle on his mobile phone.  

He said: ‘The first incident when I went over, my daughter’s driving instructor couldn’t get to the end of the driveway, and that’s when I went over and said to him it would be helpful if he parked at the side. 

‘I was aggrieved and calm at the same time. I don’t think he apologised at all. 

‘It happened a few days later. I had been to the gym and parked… He had earlier said to me that he felt like I was driving him crazy, he felt like ”knocking my block off” and ”punching my face in”. 

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court, Comerford denied causing his neighbour harassment, but was convicted following a two-day trial

‘It was intimidating behaviour. I would frequently go to the police about the parking, but mine and David’s little conversations would always end up in an ultimatum.

‘You’d expect with neighbours that you just have to rub along. When I reported the incidents, I believed they amounted to harassment. I would ring the police and they would tell me to record things and I kept a log of things.

‘He was aware of the seriousness of the situation. The police asked him to move his car and he just went: ”No I won’t”. He simply doesn’t back down. He wants to make my life difficult and to make my life a misery, and he did. That’s what he’s been successfully doing.’  

But Comerford had accused his neighbour of holding a ‘personal vendetta’, claiming he had been ‘cordial’ when speaking to Mr Charnock before it ‘turned into a confrontation’. 

He said he became aware of the allegations when police arrived at his door in January 2018.  

‘I was going about my day to day life, I had no reason to change,’ he said. 

‘I am adamant I wasn’t doing it intentionally.’ 

The court heard that Comerford had no previous convictions.

Finding him guilty, Chair of the bench Joe Bangudu said: ‘You had an amicable relationship in the beginning before it turned sour. We find you were evasive to the pertinent questions asked of you. We found your answered were not credible.

‘You did not accept harassment took place and your answers were not compelling when you said there was no alternative place for you to park. You parked in that location knowing all the problems that parking there would cause.’

Comerford will be sentenced on September 4 following the preparation of a probation report.