They do on a skip and and a caravan! well according to our police sergeant anyway.

if a car has no tax, mot, or insurance then it will be illegally parked 

so surely a trailer that does not need any of these should  be allowed to be left unattended on any public roads

By law it should be lit at night, and facing the right way on the road. I would remind the police of this.

(Edited post due to removal of a previous post!)

That previous post of mine above here seems a bit smug.  Sorry, it wasn't meant to be at all and I am extremely grateful for all your comments.

Just trying to establish whether it's legal or not. I pay £30 a month in good faith to garage my trailer because I understood that unattended trailers were illegal on the road. The reponses so far have been helpful, informative and provocative. But I have not identified the appropriate legislation to either take action or leave the matter be!  Bit pathetic I know, but I'm on a mission now !

Thanks all for your interesting responses.

Ah ha!

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/22.htm#224http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/22.htm#224.

This appears to show that the damn thing should at least be lit at night.  Knowing me I'm probably reading this wrong anyway, but it is some thing to work on.

Thanks again wildie.

I'm beginning to see that now Jan.  Cheers for your reply.

Here's what I've discovered.

It does need to be lit at night - well done all.

It should not cause an obstruction - well done all again.

Environmental Health can treat it as an abandoned vehicle BUT the moment it is claimed then it is no longer an abandoned vehicle.  Seems fair!

Here's a twist though.  Higways Dept. can deal with it if it hasn't moved for a period of time.  They can treat it as 'a structure on the highway' and ask for its removal BUT AGAIN (!) the moment it is moved even a few inches the whole process has to start again.  Marvellous!

So to summise, in general it is illegal to park an unattended trailer/caravan on the road unless it is lit at night, but the police appear to be reluctant to enforce this legislation unless the vehicle is causing an obstruction.

There we go!  Most of you got all or most of this I think and the legislation is The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989. Hoorah!

Still cheeses me off when I see it taking up a valuable parking space.  I have left it in the hands of the local Police Community Support Officer and Highways Department to 'encourage' him to park it on the 1/4 of an acre behind his house, his drive, his hard standing, his front garden, his garage.........

Thanks everyone who replied.

Oh god there's more !!!!!!!

Excerts from an e-mailed response to my enquiry to Kent County Constabulary.

Even I'm getting bored with this now !

It is my understanding that there is no right to park outside your house and police can request removal of anything they consider to be causing an obstruction. If he has a garage, a driveway, a hardstanding and a front garden  (btw do you also have same?) why does he need to park anything on the road?  And yes, it should have lights at night.

Many years ago we brought our van from storage to the house to clean and load up ready to go away.  That house had a very steep driveway which we could not possibly put a caravan on. It was to be there for 3 nights, parked under a lamp-post in a cul-de-sac of pretty standard width.  After 1 night the police turned up at our door to say they had received an anonymous phonecall reporting a caravan causing an obstruction ( which it wasn't) and that we had to move it immediately. We told them we were off on holiday and had only brought it to load up etc, so they said in that case we could leave it but had to put lights on it and if it caused an incident then we would be responsible.  Our neighbour across the street was a retired policeman and right old grump, so no prizes for guessing who the anonymous caller was!!!

Hi Jen.Thanks for the response.  I suppose I could be considered by some to be a bit of an old grump as well!  No, we live in an adjacent road, up a 6ft track.  We can barely get up to unload after a trip to Tesco's let alone park.  No front gardens or vehicle access round the back or even a garage.

We have to park on the public highway but we take care not to park outside peoples houses nearby unless the parking on the main road where there are no properties is full.  Even then all us in the little 'ouses take care not to encroach over driveways or whatever of those in the big 'ouses!

We simply park outside them if it is necessary.  All perfectly legal and we have a friendly and neighbourly rapport with all and sundry except this chap with the trailer who believes, it would seem, that he has a god given right to the three spaces outside his very large property and will possess them by whatever means necessary!

Anyway, the local Police Community Support Officer was visiting him today and I'll let you know the results, if you haven't lost the will to live yet!  Cheers!