Nails and screws found in cul-de-sac by woman who believes they were deliberately placed

Police are investigating claims nails and screws are being glued upright in a road to stop parents on the school run parking in a quiet cul-de-sac.

It is alleged car drivers who use a street in Somerset to park while they drop their children at a primary school are being targeted. Police say they are treating it as criminal damage.

Janet Smith, 62, said she believes leaves are being used to disguise the pieces of metal. She drops her two grandchildren off at East Brent Church of England academy in Highbridge three times a week.

She recently found a screw in her tyre after parking in a nearby close and says nails are being fixed in an upright position to cause maximum damage.

“Nails are being placed at the side of the road. I went there on Thursday morning and got back into my car, and turned around in the close and I thought: ‘What’s that noise?’” Smith said.

“I looked around and couldn’t see anything, but when I got home and when the wheel was in a different position, I could see it was a screw that was making the noise. Somebody is going to have a nasty accident. The parking isn’t dangerous and nobody is being blocked or anything like that. It is straightforward legal parking.”

Smith said she had returned to pick up nails that had been placed in the road, fearing a driver could have a blowout.

“One of the mums was told that if she didn’t stop parking there, she was going to find nails in her tyres,” she added.

She said about four or five people have been affected. “The screws were glued to the road. The police have been up there and taken pictures,” Smith said.

Trish Phillips, 35, said she also found a nail in the tyre of her car and had reported it to the police.

She said: “I’ve had a puncture. I was parked here and my husband found the nail afterwards. It is quite hard to find somewhere to park. We are not in a place where we can walk to school although we are in the catchment area.”

Rachael Smith, 44, who also has three children, said her car had also been damaged: “I just thought it was an elderly tyre until I started to hear that it was happening to everyone else as well. As soon as I driving home I could hear it rattling. I think it was put down maliciously.”

Jenny Geach, 36, a mother and student nurse, said: “Someone told me they would take matters into their own hands, so I started parking somewhere else. The threat was successful.”

Becki Haskins, 37, said: “I’ve had verbal abuse all the time. A man has threatened to follow me home and park in my drive. People come from all over because it’s a nice school.”

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “During the school run, there is no room to turn around and no room to park. People park on both sides of the road, so emergency vehicles couldn’t go down there.”

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said: “We can confirm that we received a report from a woman that she discovered a screw in the tyre of her vehicle when she returned home after doing the school run. She believes this was deliberate.



“We are treating the incident as criminal damage and are keen to hear from anyone who may have information.”