Tempers flare after residents block cars in after Robbie Williams gig
Residents set up an unofficial roadblock to stop Robbie Williams fans driving away after becoming fed-up with people parking on their quiet roads.
The drama unfolded shortly after 10pm when revellers were returning to their vehicles parked in Arena Avenue and Greyhound Road just off Holbrook Way, close to the A444 Jimmy Hill Way.
Scores of people attending the concert had parked down both residential roads, where no parking restrictions would appear to be in place. Cars lined both streets with others parked up on nearby grass verges.
Trouble flared when gig-goers returned to their vehicles and discovered an unofficial road block had been set-up at the end of Arena Avenue at the junction with Holbrooks Way - the only way out.
Drivers enquiring as to why they could not drive through were told by one resident it was a private road and they would have to pay £10 in order to leave.
Tempers frayed as more people returned to their cars to discover a long queue that wasn’t going anywhere.
Several residents’ cars were used to form the roadblock, with others on standby ready to fill any gaps left by departing gig-goers on the grass verges who were able to drive off.
One fed-up motorist told the Telegraph: “As I was going back to my car I could see something was going on, with people positioning their cars in the road, as if to create an obstruction.
“When I tried to drive out I couldn’t get through and asked one of the blokes stood around what was going on.
“He said people weren’t allowed to park there as it was a private road and if I wanted to get out I would have to pay £10.
“I asked why there weren’t any signs or yellow lines and he said there didn’t need to be as it was a private road.
“I then spoke to some other people blocked in and a woman said she was calling the police.”
The woman who alerted the police, who did not wish to be named, said: “Basically we parked our car in a place we deemed suitable.
“We are not on double yellows and there’s nothing to say it is a private road.
“If there was an accident or an incident they would be causing an obstruction to emergency services and they would be held accountable.”
As the queue of traffic built up there were some heated exchanges between gig-goers and residents, with one driver saying he would physically move one of the cars at the centre of the roadblock.
A plain-clothes police officer then arrived on the scene and ordered the residents to remove their cars as they were blocking the highway.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Officers were called at 10.31pm last night to reports of drivers being blocked in Arena Avenue by cars belonging to residents, following a nearby concert.
“Officers attended the incident and moved on the people blocking the street.”
The roads are within walking distance of the Ricoh Arena and one of the few locations people unable to park in the arena car parks can leave their cars without paying or facing time restrictions.
But the proximity to the Ricoh Arena is clearly a bone of contention for residents, some of whom clearly decided enough was enough.
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2016 3:23 pm