Neighbour living 2 doors away has had manhole on driveway collapse when car was parked on it.
The rubble had blocked the drains, company appointed by insurance company have been and cleared drain but are asking for a third of the costs, including repairing the manhole, to be met by myself.
I am aware of the liability to costs with regard to shared drains but in this case as my neighbour caused the damage with their car I think liability should rest solely with them. Also their drive was extended over the area with the manhole a few years ago and has been looking the worse for wear for quite a while.
Am I being unreasonable? what are your thoughts?

I'd simply refer them to your insurance company
I'd also brief your company regarding what you know of the damage & how it occurred

pretty sure I wouldn't, unless/until somebody made me

why would he park directly on a drain cover ?

I don't know about your legal position, but I'd tell them to shove it. Not only was the damage caused by your neighbour but you were not consulted before appointing a company to do the work and therefore not able to get quotes etc. I would also suggest that by appointing a company without discussing liability with you they have accepted to cover the work.

It would be no different to your neighbour hitting your wall, it's your responsibility to maintain it, but if caused by vehicular damage then his car insurance would cover it.

Has he claimed on his house or car insurance?

sounds like your neighbour should contact the builder who did the drive
extention , if its only been a few years and its collapsed there should be a guarantee on the work .

Company has been appointed by neighbours insurers.
Don`t want to involve my own insurers yet as I fear control of the matter will be taken out of my hands and still end up paying an insurance excess.

Sounds like they're taking the mick to me. First refusal should be polite, second slightly more direct, third should finish with the words "So *^#€<~}~<% sue me!!"

I so want to say those words to someone.

I am assuming the manhole was only built for pedestrian traffic and not upgraded when the use of land was changed (i.e car traffic)?

I am assuming the manhole was only built for pedestrian traffic and not upgraded when the use of land was changed (i.e car traffic)?

If you can find the old cover photograph it and check the rating falkirk-mark is correct to suggest that it may have not been up to the job. If you can't find the old cover ask for the original recipt.

Now might be a good time to check if you have legal cover on your insurance, phone them on Monday and see what they say with regard to how you are covered for third party liability. I don't see this as being any different from your wall falling over and damaging a neighbours car.

Have you discussed this with whoever is being asked to meet the other third of the costs?

At the end of the day you have to live next door to these people do you want a war?

At the end of the day you have to live next door to these people do you want a war?

Agreed, my neighbour just had a company replace the fence between us, it's 2" further into my garden than the old one & rests on my gatepost so the gate no longer shuts, at the end of the garden they've nailed their fencepost to my arris rails and left rubble & waste soil in my garden. I can't be bothered to argue over 2" but pointed out the tidying up was awful. Amusingly I got a quote from the same company a number of years ago to do mine but viewed some of their work & it was of a poorer standard than I'm capable of so did it myself – good to see nothings changed.

My neighbour took the fence down between us and built a conservatory back on the borderline between the gardens. When I asked about privacy glass going in or blinds (the house is slightly higher than mine & looks stright into the dinning room through the french ddors) They said they would think about it, so I put a 1.8m fence up down the length of the garden. The builders used my decking rails to stand on when they were putting the roof on the conservatory.
Anyhow, the neighbours objected and asked how they were going to clean there windows as the fence was right up close to the glass, the man from the council said 'how were you going to clean them if the fence wasn't there?' they said 'well we would just stand in the (my) garden when they (we) weren't in'
case dismissed, trespass.

I still laugh