Man Pays Half A Million Quid For A City Centre Parking Space

If you drive then you know there are plenty of things that can wind you up during a car journey. However, the biggest annoyance is often finding somewhere to park.

Ideally, you want a space that costs nothing and isn't too far from where you're going. Failing that, you can make do with forking out one or two quid for a prime position.

Sadly, especially if you're in a town centre, to get a decent space you have to pay a stupid amount and still have to walk a long way. Want to get any closer? You're no doubt wondering if you have to remortgage your house to be able to afford parking in a multistorey.

Credit: PA

We can thank our lucky stars, though, that we're not paying the amount of money some people have to pay in Hong Kong.

Some geezer paid HK$5.18 million (£521,372) for a space, breaking the record fee, local newspaper Ming Pao reported.

The same paper claimed that Kwan Waiming, CEO of Hong Kong-listed company Huarong Investment Stock Corp, was the man throwing 50s at the space in the Sai Ying Pun area.

Credit: PA

He hasn't just bought it because he wants a decent spot to leave his car when he shops - he already has two other parking bays in the area. So he either has a load of cars, is a greedy bastard or has a weird collecting fetish for parking spaces.

Perhaps he'd have been better off following in the footsteps of one American student, who came up with a parking hack of his own.

Most people really aren't into paying for spaces, therefore running the risk of being slapped with a ticket. None of that for this guy though - he simply doesn't pay, and avoids getting a fine in a unique (also probably illegal) way.

Nineteen-year-old TJ Azodeh is currently studying at Houston University and he trolls the uni by sticking an old ticket under his windshield and getting away with it, he told Buzzfeed News.

Got to admire the ingenuity, but kind of laugh at the fact he's put it on social media and can easily be found out.

Still, loads of people copied - admittedly, with various rates of success. You'd imagine a proper traffic warden would check the ticket.

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.