Would you find this annoying?

[BlackCatsRock]

My son and I play football in our back garden. We use a soft ball, not a proper football. Occasionally (maybe 5 or 6 times a week) the ball will go over the fence into our neighbour's garden. We don't go knocking to ask for the ball back, just wait to see if they throw it back over. If you were my neighbour would you find this situation annoying?

I can’t imagine getting worked up about throwing a child’s softball back over the fence even if it was every time I went into the garden. 5-6 times per week is most days as has been pointed out.

As pp have said, if you knocked constantly, I would be annoyed, or if there ended up being several balls that I had to keep throwing back at any one time, that might also start to grate. A single ball, nope.

Yes, sorry, I would. 5 or 6 times a week isn't occasionally, it's every day! I would be accidentally losing the ball.

Yes, it is annoying. It’s pretty much every day, not occasionally!

Yes that would annoy me

No wouldn't bother me at all.

God people are so uptight! I wouldn’t be rushing out to throw back, but would lob balls back as and when I’m in the garden. Life is short.

This would annoy me. We get it fairly regularly as live next to a park, but are often out, so th3 balls don’t get returned, although would it asked politely.

If the same on3 came over more than once, I would tell them to play somewhere else in the enormous park, rather than right by my house.

Thank you for your replies.

The neighbours one side don't have an issue, the neighbours the other side do.

We do go to the park sometimes but it's a 15 minute walk away so if we want to just pop out for a kick around then we go in the back garden.

I guess when I said occasionally I meant in relation to how much we're out there. We can be playing for quite a while before the ball goes over.

We use a soft ball to minimise any damage, which means it generally goes over more because it's light.

Get a bigger fence or a high trellis perhaps?

Do you even need to ask. Of course it would be annoying.

It wouldn’t bother me. I’d pop it back over if I was there or saw it or I’d probably just tell you to feel free to come and collect it yourself - assuming no damage etc...

Meh.

I don't think I would. Kids play, balls go over fences. I'd just pop it back over.

It would only irritate me if it was damaging something.

I'd probably appreciate you popping round though to apologise for the frequency and ask if it bothered me.

That’s not occasionally!

Yes, having a ball appear in your garden 5 or 6 times a week would be annoying.

5-6 times a week is not occasionally!

In what planet is almost daily occasionally.

Of course it's annoying. Is this a reverse? I don't understand how either way you wouldn't know it was annoying.

I think I've clarified what I meant by occasionally in my second post. I should've said in my original post that some weeks it doesn't go over at all.

We've spoken to and apologised to both neighbours. One side really isn't fussed, the other side aren't particularly happy.

My kids occasionally put the ball in the neighbours garden - maybe 3/4 times a year at a guess. If it was every week then I wouldn’t let them play with the ball there anymore.

@Bluntness100

As I've said, more than once, one neighbour isn't bothered, the other is. I'm interested in what other people think.

One side really isn't fussed, the other side aren't particularly happy

Not surprised.

The problem is depending on where it landed it could cause damage especially if you have to move plants out of the way to get it back.

No one minds occasionally mishaps but when it happens regularly (and yes I read your second post) it becomes annoying.

I would apologise again and erect some kind of netting in your garden to avoid it happening.

What are you not surprised about @fedup21?

I'd be annoyed to be honest, and if it's several times a week would not be returning them daily.

I wouldn't be fussed if the ball came over and I threw it back whenever I saw it, I would get annoyed if you kept coming over asking for it back. 5-6 times a week IS a lot though, sounds like your garden is not suitable for footie.

Have you seen the football on a string gadget? We've got one and its pretty good.

I’m a very relaxed neighbour. Things that would bother most people, wouldn’t even register with me. A ball being kicked into my garden and me having to throw it back pretty much every day would really start testing me though and after a while I probably wouldn’t bother chucking them back. Why can’t you set rules like, only low kicking and throwing in the garden, kicking/throwing the ball high is for the park? Can you get a goal and then the object of the game is to get the ball in the goal and not over the fence?

It would annoy me, yes.

Just because it doesn't bother one set of neighbours, doesn't mean the other side have to be fine with it.