A FRUSTRATED homeowner says he is sick of influencers posing outside his “incredible” home with even a Domino’s driver taking snaps.
Mike Cutbill, who lives in Hampshire, said he did not expect his home would become an attraction for passersby who use it as a photo opportunity for Instagram.
Kennedy NewsMike Cutbill with Nicky Watkins, both 42[/caption]
Kennedy NewsThe homeowner has shamed ‘rude’ Instagrammers repeatedly caught on CCTV posing on his driveway for photos[/caption]
Kennedy NewsAmong the culprits are a Domino’s delivery driver who was captured taking pictures by the family car from various angles[/caption]
Kennedy NewsPassersby can’t get enough of the house[/caption]
The 42-year-old even posted a video of one such incident, appearing to show a Domino’s delivery driver parked up on his property, taking snaps of his car from various angles.
Dad-of-two Mike initially thought the driver was making a delivery next door until realising he was using his house as a photo opportunity.
Another clip shows a couple of women posing for snaps on his drive and Mike says it’s common for people to stop and photograph his property.
Commenters suggested that people might be trying to pass off his house as their own to impress others on social media, and many told him to take it as a compliment.
The IT consultant feels it is “really cheeky” and “rude” for people to take pictures on his driveway, but adds he can also see the funny side to it.
Mike said his partner Nicky Watkins loves watching people caught doing it, but also wants to “deter” people from going so far as parking on their drive.
She tracked down the Domino’s driver at his workplace, where he reportedly said he thought their house was “beautiful”.
Mike said: “When I saw this man driving up with his car and taking photos, that’s something I hadn’t experienced before at all. We were out shopping and we got the notification that someone was on our drive.
“I zoomed in and saw this guy works at Domino’s, I thought maybe he is just doing a delivery next door. I thought that’s really cheeky, he could have parked on the road.
“Then I realised he’s not taking a delivery but taking photos of his car in front of our house. My partner specifically wants to deter people from doing it because it’s a driveway and there are parking laws. People don’t understand you can’t just go straight into a driveway.
“I’m not too fussed. I see the funny side to it. It’s cheeky and rude but funny still. My partner spoke to him yesterday at his work. He said he took the photos as he said our house looked beautiful. So it was totally innocent.”
Last year, the dad posted a video of two women taking photos of themselves in his driveway and leaning on his fence, which he claimed made a loud, “crashing” noise.
Mike said: “I was in the back of my house and I heard a loud noise, almost like someone crashed through the ceiling. I looked out and saw these two ladies walking off. I reviewed my CCTV and realised they were taking photos on my drive. The noise was one of the ladies leaning on my fence.
“I see the compliment side of it. I know a lot of people would have a problem with it. I have that in the back of my head thinking I shouldn’t allow that but it’s not how I was brought up.
“Our house must be an attraction to the street since so many choose to use it. I’ve always lived in quiet areas in the past, this is quite a busy road so it’s something I need to get used to but when you see things like that you think ‘God’.”
The couple renovated their driveway two years ago and claimed that many people would stop to look at it.
And Mike says this has increased further since they added their Christmas decorations, having noticed more people commenting on the house’s appearance.
STOP AND STARE
Meanwhile, Nicky does not mind the attention the house is getting as she gets to “people-watch” whenever she hears a noise.
Mike said: “It was initially when our driveway was done. We had a lot of people stop and look. And even when we were out there, they used to stop and talk to us about it and the changes we made, not just to the drive by the facade too.
“But now it’ll be more because of the lights I’d say. My partner is one of those who look at the window at the slightest noise.
“And she reviews the cameras sometimes to see if anything has come up. She loves to go through it, kind of like a people watcher.”
Mike’s TikTok has gathered 281,000 views, which he claims is his personal record.
One commenter said: “It’s cheeky but equally just goes to show you did a banging job with your decorations.”
Another said: “I applaud you for being kind and letting it happen.”
Kennedy NewsMike has captured ‘Instagrammers’ more than once right on his front doorstep[/caption]
Kennedy NewsHe says that they are causing a nuisance[/caption]
Kennedy NewsTheir house is now complete with Christmas lights[/caption]
A third wrote: “Haha what a compliment, Maybe put a sign telling them they need to put £5 through the letterbox for using it.”
Similar replies included: “Put a JustGiving link to raise money for charity. If they want photos they have to pay.”
However some users suggested people were posing outside the house to make it look like it was theirs.
One said: “Tryna [trying to] fake to his family and friends he has your home!”
A second added: “He be sending them pics to family back home, pretending that he doing better than he is.”
Another suggested: “Selling the car, he trying to make out that’s where he lives in a nice neighbourhood.”
Your rights explained
If someone is on your property uninvited this is trespassing.
However, it can be difficult to do anything about it. In many instances, this is considered a civil offence rather than a criminal one.
Typically, police will only remove trespassers for you if they have entered a property and intend to illegally occupy it.
They may also intervene if the trespasser’s behaviour is threatening or abusive.
Your first step should be to politely tell the trespasser to leave the property, or stop using it in the manner which you find undesirable.
If you pursued a civil case against a person for trespassing and won, the courts would have the jurisdiction to have them removed from the property.
Of course, this would not really be a feasible route for someone who had stopped on your doorstep for a quick photoshoot.
This may occur, for example, if someone parked on your driveway without your permission.
You could also pursue a legal claim for nuisance behaviour.