Daily Highlights

The right to vote for a political party of your choice is an important and democratic right. No one has the right to tell you who to vote for. You may get canvassers telling you why they think you should vote for their party, though this is normal practice. However, offerings of money or threats of violence is not normal practice and must be reported to the police.

It is an offence to offer money or gifts in return for voting for a particular party or candidate and to offer undue force/threats/violence to compel or refrain a person from voting for a particular party or candidate. Both these offences can carry a term of imprisonment. You must report any such instances to your local police station.

At present legislation only provides the local authority with the power to take action against loud car stereos if the car is on private land or parked on the street. If there is a car/a group of cars that is parked up constantly on your street and the stereos are being played very loud then you need to make a complaint to your local authority.

The police also have powers to deal with cars playing loud music (whilst driving and stationary) although the officers would have to be present and hear the noise before they could take any action.

If it is a one-off occurrence then neither the police nor the local authority will be likely to take any action. If however it is a persistent problem then either contact the local authority or your local police via their 101 number.

See the website in related information to find your local authority.

Aside from the legal issues it is not safe for children to play on roads. This can also cause a nuisance for lots of people in the area who are wary of driving down the street for fear of knocking over a child or getting their cars damaged.

Putting aside possible traffic or public order issues, it is an offence to play ball games on a public road if it is to the annoyance of road users. It is likely that ball games played on a public road will be to the immediate annoyance of road users.

It is also a breach of by-laws to play ball games to the annoyance of residents. By-laws are created by the local councils and may not apply to every street, there could be some designated as 'play streets' (and similar), where games are allowed, and the by-law may not exist at all in some towns.
If this is a problem in your street, then contact your local neighbourhood policing team who will be able to offer advice and assistance.