“I trust that Jasmine will receive all the support that she needs now that her plight, and that of others in the area, has been exposed. These issues are usually on-going and need on-going support. I often wonder where the ever vocal councillors are when people experience difficulties that are not of their own making.”

“ROOMATTHETOP - you must know you are being far to simplistic in your description of London, in the same way as some people are about Ilfracombe. In your time in London you must have known that at many junctions you could turn left and find apocalyptic poverty, filth, danger and decay and turn right and find diamond encrusted wealth. And everything in between. It is a city that is far wealthier than most and has by many of the most deprived areas in the UK. it is a city of extremes. Ilfracombe is not a town of extremes.”

“Many thanks for your advice ROOMATTHETOP.”

“Ska, no not at all. I'm always going to London and it was where I worked for a lifetime, mainly in the City area, but also on Victoria Embankment and the west end. I think a dead body is as likely to be stepped over in Ilfracombe as in London. I'm not saying that people are overtly 'friendly' in London when travelling on the tube, but conversations are struck up spontaneously more often than they are here. Perhaps it's a kind of capital fellowship. Of course, you can jump on the tube at Shepherds Bush and get off at Leytonstone and not be bothered by a soul, but the same indifference to surrounding humanity may also occur on a bus trip from Ilfracombe to Bideford. I just can't help my general experience that I feel a little safer in the City area at night than I do here. I don't go wandering the streets of Ilfracombe at midnight but when I took a walk from the Tate Modern to Chancery Lane tube, over the Millennium Bridge, I felt less uncomfortable when I would walking the same distance in say, Combe Martin on a Friday night. Similarly, three weeks ago, I strolled from the Ibis Hotel in Earls Court to a pub in North End Road, just near Talgarth Road, at around 9.30pm , to meet up for a drink, and felt perfectly secure. All this 'gang' stuff is nonsense. It's only each other they trouble. Ilfracombe youth, however, seem a bit simple to me. They're still wearing hoods!”

“"people are friendlier on the London underground" than any Devon town!
I was watching a reality show on BBC last night where people stepped over the deceased body of a London man on the underground.The people that witnessed that were not shocked.
I (like you) am originally from a City (outside of the South West) so im not blowing my Devonian trumpet.
It is not clear when you last lived in London,but it is clear that you are very much visualising London with an `antiquated Mary Poppins outlook`.”

“Being born and bred in Ilfracombe does not confer any special rights, obligations or privileges to anybody. I was born in central London, but it doesn't give me the right to park in the middle of Oxford Street or Piccadilly Circus when I feel like it. In fact, if I had been born in Ilfracombe it might be the last thing I'd want anyone to know because running parallel with its advantages are the insularity of some residents. It is a town that is clearly deteriorating and I hope recent investment will reverse the trend. I am a member of a club in the town that has over 180 members, but I doubt that a single one of them was born in in Devon. The irony is that people are generally friendlier, more helpful and chatty on the underground and in the streets of London than in any Devon town.
But back to your case.
If the neighbours are parking on land which is legally yours then it may be a case of trespass. This isn't a criminal offence, and removing trespassers can take a long time (ap propos Dale Farm 'travellers' site in recent months.
You could form an opinion that if they are parking their cars on your land without your permission then their insurance is not valid. You could put a note under the windscreen to the effect so that you are not responsible for any damage that occurs to it whilst on your property. Also you could request them to please check their policy to determine whether, if theft or damage occurs, such an event is covered when parking on that piece of land without the owner's permission. They could see that as a threat and run to the police, but the police are not interested in the slightest in civil matters such as this.
Words like 'constabulary' are the worst ones you can use because it suggests pomposity. In any case, most police officers today can't even spell the word.
If the car is on your land you might even lay claim to it. You might inform the DVLA that 'a vehicle parked on my land does not belong to me but you would like nevertheless to declare a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notice) to absolve you of any car tax liability.'
If you are absolutely certain that you have title of the land they are parking on without your permission, then you can register it again.
If it is the case that you are certain of ownership, then you could put a notice on their car to that effect and say that you are arranging with a 'Parking Solutions' company to clamp the vehicle with a release fee of £150 on every occasion that THE COMPANY discovers any car there. You can say that you will have ABSOLUTELY NO INVOLVEMENT in the clamping activities of the firm you appoint because it would be a contractual arrangement.

Here's a sample:

'You are parked on private property. Please remove your vehicle. Arrangements are being made for a parking solutions company to clamp any vehicle found on this property without their prior consent. If your vehicle is clamped you will need to discuss the matter with the company involved and not the author of this notice'.

You must not damage or interfere with the car in anyway, other than placing the notice under the windscreen wipers.

Don't be bullied. Bullies are always crushed in the end.

Hope this helps.”

“I agree with skareggae that sometimes people in Ilfracombe don't know how good they've got it. Nowhere is a perfect place to live because the people make a place and there are no perfect people! Slight annoyances are blown out of all proportion because we are all used to such a comfortable way of life in Combe.”

“Good work ROOMATTHETOP. Have you ever thought of running an on-line residents surgery?”

“Thank you "Room at the Top" for your words of wisdom. No doubt Jasmine will follow your advice. Actually, I meant to say that Jasmine's glass is definitely half empty but the phone rang and I was distracted.

"Room at the Top" have you any words of wisdom vis-a-vis my dilemma? My neighbours, born and bred in Ilfracombe, insist that the Land Registry and land registration is a load of old rubbish. They contend that they are permitted to park wherever they like and that includes my freehold parking plot. Their freehold parking plots are clearly defined on their title plans. Solicitors' letters go unanswered and solicitors' fees rocket. This is Ilfracombe that I am talking about, the town that teaches entitlement and defiance of conventions. When, at my wits' end, I asked the Ilfracombe Constabulary to show them the copies of their title plans that I had down-loaded from the Land Registry website, I was insulted and abused.

Furthermore, has anyone else in Ilfracombe got any ideas as to how you explain to those born, bred and, seemingly, educated in Ilfracombe, the significance of title deeds and title plans? As I say, they think that solicitors are a load of old fogeys and they ignore any communications from them. I live on a pension and I have finite resources for funding never-ending solicitors' fees. Moreover, I am frequently told that the young are the future of Ilfracombe and it is going upmarket!”

“The practical thing to do is to go to the council and ask them to issue or declare a blight notice. This, I think, comes under the Town and Country Planning Act. The owner of the land can be compelled to clear up any litter or offensive rubbish. They risk having the land seized if the work isn't carried out, or fined. This worked very well in Hastings, where derelict and uncared for homes were redecorated, some at the council's expense, and then the householders had to reimburse by court order. There's usually a solution to this, and also environmental and hygiene laws can be used to get rid of badly soiled area. Picturesque setting is fine, but tourists don't live here. Everyone is entitled to have a clean and fresh place to live in and not be surrounded by dirty nappies and needs, as apparently there is at this site.”