By ADAM POGRUND, TRAINEE REPORTER
A furious couple have been blocked into their drive after a blundering Labour-run council painted a bus stop directly outside their house.
Christopher Harris and Michelle Smith, from Beddau, south Wales found the bus stop painted outside their drive when they returned from work last month having been told it would placed further up the road.
The bus stop sits along a dropped kerb which is directly outside their house. A sign pole was also erected which sits in one of their hedges.
A stream of buses parking outside their door for long periods as well as crowds of school kids gathering outside their gates daily has left the couple raging.
Mr Harris eventually threatened to block the bus stop if the buses continued to impede his drive.
The couple have now been given an apology by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and been told the bus stop on Llantrisant Road will be removed.
Mr Harris said: 'When I saw the plans it was supposed to be up the road so I didn't take any notice. But we had parking spaces outside our house and now we've lost those spaces.
'That wasn't in any consultation. At no point did they ever say the stop would be there.
A furious couple have been blocked into their drive after a blundering Labour-run council painted a bus stop directly outside their house
Christopher Harris and Michelle Smith, from Beddau, south Wales found the bus stop painted outside their drive when they returned from work in August having been told it would placed further up the road
'They've put the post in my hedge and the bus stop is literally right at the end of my drive. The buses are being told to stop right on a dropped kerb which I'm sure isn't legal.
'Of course, by the time I realised all of this they'd finished. So far everyone I've spoken to hasn't been able to help me. Not only have we lost parking spaces outside the house without notice, we're often being blocked into our own drive.'
He added: 'The bus stops have been moved to accommodate the school kids. So I could have God knows how many kids smack outside my gates every day. What happens when I open my gates and try to get my car out in the morning?'
He also said that when he confronted a driver they were friendly and agreed with his complaints.
'He was parked there for a while and I said: 'Nothing against you mate, but you're blocking my driveway.'
'He called his company and told them a bus stop was blocking the house and he said he totally agreed with me that it wasn't right. He was good as gold.
'I have threatened that if buses continue to block my drive then I will block the bus stop. I'll have no choice.
'When you Google it there is plenty of information online about why a bus stop should not be placed on a dropped kerb. I can't believe it's been put there.
A stream of buses parking outside their door for long periods as well as crowds of school kids gathering outside their gates daily has left the couple raging
Mr Harris eventually threatened to block the bus stop if the buses continued to impede his drive
The council apologised for the disturbance and said 'common sense has prevailed'.
'I had an email just apologising and saying it's going to be taken away and put back to what it was before which was a couple of parking bays and traffic calming bollards,' Mr Harris said. 'I'm glad common sense has prevailed.. It was a nonsense.'
A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council said they hadn't met standards expected of the local authority during the consultation process.
They said: 'We sincerely apologise to the impacted householders.
'Having reviewed the process undertaken we found that it didn't meet the standards expected of us during the consultation period. As a result the bus stops will be removed from the highway.'
