Furious residents living in a quiet village have blasted a madcap neighbour after he bought a TANK — and parked it outside his home.
Picture credit: Sam Tierney
Military-nut Nicholas Kravchenko is now refusing to move the four-tonne camouflaged beast which came complete with caterpillar tracks.
Residents living in the normally tranquil St Peter’s Road in Wolvercote, near Oxford, have branded the machine an ”eyesore”.
But Mr Kravchenko – a retired Army engineer – has refused to move the tank which takes up three-and-a-half normal parking spaces.
Yesterday he stormed: ”I can go out and drive it any time I like. There’s no law to stop anyone having 10 tanks.
”The council have not said it’s antisocial and the police would have been straight on to me if it was parked illegally.
”It’s not intimidating, because it’s a square box with a Rolls-Royce engine in it and it doesn’t stick out in the road.”
Bizarrely, Mr Kravchenko also claimed HE was the victim of harassment.
He went on: ”I’m being harassed by residents making false claims to the police and council to the purpose of preventing me from my lawful and peaceful enjoyment of my life.
”I’m fed up with it.”
But neighbours hit back, saying he is ruining their street.
Paul Harvey, who lives three doors away from Mr Kravchenko, said: ”The whole situation is unbelievable.
”There’s a limited number of spaces on the street and this tank is taking up a number of them.
”It has been put here purely to wind up the residents. It’s so incredibly antisocial.”
Neighbour Debbie Tyson, who lives opposite the tank, added: ”I have to look at that thing every morning.
”It’s a disgrace. I can’t believe there’s nothing that the authorities can do.”
Another woman, who did not want to be named, added: ”Initially I heard he was parking it outside his home while he looked for somewhere else to store it but I overheard him telling someone he was going to leave it there permanently.
”It’s an eyesore and is upsetting and scares the little kids. One toddler asked her mum if we were in a war. It’s not right.”
Mr Kravchenko bought the decommissioned military vehicle from the MoD and told neighbours he planned to display it at military shows.
Angry residents have appealed to Oxford City Council to take action but the authority is powerless to act.
Town hall chiefs say their hands are tied because there are no parking restrictions on the road and the vehicle is roadworthy and taxed.
Council officers have promised to meet with Mr Kravchencko this week in an attempt to persuade him to move the vehicle.
Council spokesman Louisa Dean said: ”We’re now working with the local community and police as well as our Crime and Nuisance Action Team to see if we can help with this dispute.”
It is not the first time Mr Kravchenko has been under fire over his passion for collecting vehicles.
Last September, Oxford City Council removed a convoy of Mr Kravchenko’s vehicles – including five trailers, a Ford Sierra, a Land Rover and some scrap metal – after declaring them abandoned.
But Mr Kravchenko successfully appealed the ruling and on February 1, Oxford County Court ordered the council return the vehicles to him.
Neighbour Alan Cotmore said: ”It’s a lovely area but it’s becoming a personal scrapyard.”
War veteran David Bedford, 85, added: ”It’s heart-breaking living where I do.
‘I have to look at his filthy, broken cars every time I leave my house and it’s really getting me down.
”I don’t know what to do any more.”
That isn’t actually a tank, but some sort of service vehicle. Ban caterpillar tractors also, cause first of all they were built for military purposes, only then gone to use in civil machinery.
caterpillar tracks* where first used on farm machinery and cranes, then when the first tanks where built they adopted them. (basically)
What a bunch of interfering idiots; the chap has not broken any laws and I can tell you that if I was a child and someone in my street had an armoured vehicle, I’d be thrilled to bits.
Stop trying to make everything in the world conform to what you want. From the sounds of things, the poor chap has been hassled quite a lot over his hobbies; also, from the image, it seems that the place’s looks could only be improved by having armoured vehicles in it.
Stay classy Britain, waiting for people to complain about people obnoxiously breathing now.
this is why england is the worst country in europe
Yeah, course it is… I, for one, would much rather be living in Poland, Albania, Kosovo or one of the Eurozone countries that’s really feeling the pinch now…
It’s a “disgrace”? Apparently England is the home of the whiniest women on earth.
Also, that’s complete crap about a toddler asking if they are at war. Such little kids aren’t going to draw connections like that.
It’s also crap about the children being scared. Any normal child would love to check that thing out. It’s probably those crazy air headed mothers of theirs telling them how dangerous it is, and that it will shoot them and bomb their house.
I love how the writers of this article are completely against the owner of the armored recovery vehicle.
Not a tank you idiots.
this man is full of win. If a tank was within my price range, and was legal on us streets, i would own one right now! in fact, if anyone ever offers me a tank for little to no money, i’ll be all like: frick yeah i want a tank!.” it doesn’t even have to work, it can just sit on my front lawn, while my neighbors are perpetually awestruck by it and women throw themselves at me due to my obvious extreme masculinity.