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AIBU?

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Original poster

My neighbour chopped down my bay trees. Is this criminal damage?

130 replies

Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 19:36

I trimmed a hedge between our properties, only from my side of the garden. The hedge between us is high as I haven’t got long handled loppers so I took a year’s growth off. I just came home from a day out and the neighbour has chopped down two of my bay trees in retaliation! The hedge is meant to be trimmed, it’s part of the lease. He intentionally came on to my property to chop down the two trees that frame the front door entrance my house. Can I call the police? Is this trespassing? Criminal damage? Thank you so much for any legal input. Our children are all at the same school and our kids are so upset.

OP posts:
AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:49

Rosedreaming · 03/05/2025 20:47

You know they're very careful to check for the nests that 5 minutes ago you didn't think existed in hedges? 🤔

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Yes because they’re professionals. In 20
years and multiple companies we have never had a criminal report or customer complaint. So there you go

Unexpecteddrivinginstructor · 03/05/2025 20:49

To be honest I would talk to your landlady who it sounds like lives next door and leave it to her to deal with. Not worth you getting too invested in it all because it isn't your house.

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:48

Rosedreaming · 03/05/2025 20:45

What hedges are you growing that can't cope with a few months not being trimmed?

Robins and many other small birds have a preference for nesting nearer the ground, often in hedges. They don't usually nest in trees. Please make sure any hedges are carefully and thoroughly checked for nests before trimming them.

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Privet hedges. They’d be 20 foot tall and nearly as wide after 7 months. They don’t have anything nesting in them though.

TheReturnOfFeathersMcGraw · 03/05/2025 20:48

Are these small trees in pots either side of your door? If he's taken the whole top off then yes Id say it is. Can we see what he's done to one of them?

Rosedreaming · 03/05/2025 20:47

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:40

They are

Show quote history

You know they're very careful to check for the nests that 5 minutes ago you didn't think existed in hedges? 🤔

KIlliePieMyOhMy · 03/05/2025 20:47

Could we possibly try to stick to OPs question.

noidea02 · 03/05/2025 20:46

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

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Of course birds nest in hedges!!!

ThisIsMyYearToFindMyself · 03/05/2025 20:46

Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 20:44

Yes he admitted it. We live in a very rural area. There is a high hedge between our gardens. Our landlady lives to one side and we are in a semi detached, the neighbour owns his half and we rent ours. There are sea views. We are in Devon. He has said before it’s fine to take the top off the hedge and the landlady next door has also asked us to keep the hedge down as she also needs sea views. I didn’t take much off and only from my side. He came onto our property and beheaded our bay trees which were outside our front door.

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Try and record him again admitting it, using an app on your phone.

Rosedreaming · 03/05/2025 20:45

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

Show quote history

What hedges are you growing that can't cope with a few months not being trimmed?

Robins and many other small birds have a preference for nesting nearer the ground, often in hedges. They don't usually nest in trees. Please make sure any hedges are carefully and thoroughly checked for nests before trimming them.

Original poster
Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 20:44

CarrotVan · 03/05/2025 19:37

Have you spoken to him?

Yes he admitted it. We live in a very rural area. There is a high hedge between our gardens. Our landlady lives to one side and we are in a semi detached, the neighbour owns his half and we rent ours. There are sea views. We are in Devon. He has said before it’s fine to take the top off the hedge and the landlady next door has also asked us to keep the hedge down as she also needs sea views. I didn’t take much off and only from my side. He came onto our property and beheaded our bay trees which were outside our front door.

OP posts:
YearlySubscriptionRenewal · 03/05/2025 20:43

Regardless, it's safe to say the neighbour doesn't care a bit about birds or he wouldn't have chopped the trees.

OP, can you prove it's the neighbour? Have you got a ring doorbell?

ninjahamster · 03/05/2025 20:41

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

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Yes they do! There are two nests in the hedge between us and our neighbours!

Wolfpa · 03/05/2025 20:41

how do you know it was your neighbour?

also are you saying that you chopped the top of the hedge off? How much shorter is it now?

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:40

Seeline · 03/05/2025 20:39

Well they had better be careful - if they damage or destroy an active nest they can be prosecuted. Doesn't matter where the nest is - tree, hedge, ground, cliff - they are all protected.

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They are

Christwosheds · 03/05/2025 20:40

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

Show quote history

Loads of birds nest in hedges ! Blackbirds, Hedge Sparrows, Various tits, Wrens, Robins and many more all nest in hedges.

Seeline · 03/05/2025 20:39

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:33

i do actually, although admittedly don’t have field hedgerows in my garden.

i do work for a companies that spends millions
every year on landscaping and gardening hundreds of thousands of properties and hedge trimming never stops in nesting season. Tree maintenance obviously does

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Well they had better be careful - if they damage or destroy an active nest they can be prosecuted. Doesn't matter where the nest is - tree, hedge, ground, cliff - they are all protected.

Dearg · 03/05/2025 20:36

Chazbots · 03/05/2025 20:34

Tonnes of birds nest in our hedges and wanker neighbour just cleared an entire hedge.

I'd be very upset if you'd cut a communal hedge back in nesting season.

Well yes, but cutting down bay trees , which may also be home to birds, is not better.

Velmy · 03/05/2025 20:36

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 03/05/2025 20:27

WTF? Mumsnet gets more nuts by the day.
I'll be back in a mo, just off to tell the blackbird in the hedge by the front door to fuck off, they're in the wrong place.....
I'll fire off an email to the RSPB while I'm at it, dickheads have a whole page about birds nesting in hedges. The fools.

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Housing crisis you see. All those foreign bird coming over here, getting put up in fancy trees while our British birds are forced to slum it in hedges.

Cheers Starmer, blackbirds are crying now.

Zanatdy · 03/05/2025 20:35

I’d be knocking on his door and telling him what a tw*t he is. How pathetic, hedges are supposed to be trimmed annually, so pathetic to retaliate in that way. Police might have a word at a push, but unfortunately nothing that will be done about it.

Chazbots · 03/05/2025 20:34

Tonnes of birds nest in our hedges and wanker neighbour just cleared an entire hedge.

I'd be very upset if you'd cut a communal hedge back in nesting season.

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:33

B1indEye · 03/05/2025 20:30

I'm assuming you don't live rurally 😂

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i do actually, although admittedly don’t have field hedgerows in my garden.

i do work for a companies that spends millions
every year on landscaping and gardening hundreds of thousands of properties and hedge trimming never stops in nesting season. Tree maintenance obviously does

Hankunamatata · 03/05/2025 20:33

Evidence?

B1indEye · 03/05/2025 20:30

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

Show quote history

I'm assuming you don't live rurally 😂

Init4thecatz · 03/05/2025 20:29

Go over, ask why he's done it, but secretly record on your phone so you have admission.

Judashascomeintosomemoney · 03/05/2025 20:27

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

Show quote history

WTF? Mumsnet gets more nuts by the day.
I'll be back in a mo, just off to tell the blackbird in the hedge by the front door to fuck off, they're in the wrong place.....
I'll fire off an email to the RSPB while I'm at it, dickheads have a whole page about birds nesting in hedges. The fools.