The owner of the car, Jason Huljich, left for a holiday to South America last week and left the car in the care of his sister, Rachel Huljich, who has just moved into a house on the same street.

Two days ago Ms Huljich moved the car to a construction zone, where parking is not permitted after 7am.

"It is very surprising," a stunned Ms Huljich said.

"He's away for another two weeks in South America, so I haven't decided whether I'll tell him now or when he comes back."

Resident Stephen Gray said workers for SMS Construction had been moving cars in the street with forklifts for some time while they work on a four-storey building.

"They've been doing it for months now," he said.