But also couldn't Royal Mail have turned the postbox 90 degrees facing the pavement so this would never be a problem? Or if there was a reason the postbox must face this direction, yellow lines to stop people from parking there?
No it isn't. It's a dick move but not against the law. The local council need to make enquiries with DVLA and issue a notice to the registered owner to move their vehicle. The police certainly wouldn't have any powers over this.
If any person wilfully obstructs, or incites anyone to obstruct, an officer of the Post Office in the execution of his duty, or whilst in any post office, or within any premises belonging to any post office or used therewith, obstructs the course of business of the Post Office, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding forty shillings.
I’d argue it’s obstructing an officer of the post office in the execution of his duty. Forty Shillings please.
(1)A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he—
(a)intentionally delays or opens a postal packet in the course of its transmission by post, or
(...)
(5)A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) or (3) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
Assuming that you accept the argument that blocking in a postbox constitutes intentionally delaying postal packets, that could be an unlimited fine and six months in jail :)
If the law was regularly upheld, I'm sure the fine would be reviewed on a regular basis. I'm pretty sure if somebody was to be charged under this particular piece of legislation, they wouldn't actually be fined 40 shillings, but a remuneration more fitting of the offence. £240 sounds about right for obstructing a post box with your shitty parking.
Except the wording of the law explicitly forbids fines of more than 40 shillings, so they'd need to amend the law first, and someone can't be fined under a new law when it never existed at the time.
Basically it's so rarely an issue there's no need to be enforced, so there's no point in changing it.
That’s very good to know! My neighbour often parks their car fully on the pavement (even though they have a driveway) and I can’t get my wheelchair around it most of the time
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u/Random_Brit_ Nov 08 '19
Driver is a twat.
But also couldn't Royal Mail have turned the postbox 90 degrees facing the pavement so this would never be a problem? Or if there was a reason the postbox must face this direction, yellow lines to stop people from parking there?