Neighbour blocking access and being threatening

[FinallyFinalGirl]

Hi I wonder if someone can help? A couple of weeks ago, my uncle, who is an elderly farmer, told me that one of the gates he uses to access my field, which he rents, was being blocked by two women living in the house on the other side of the lane. They had put a boulder down. So my husband went over and one of the women explained she didn't want the farmer to drive a trailer into her drive, but there was still access for a tractor.

My uncle moved the boulder out the way, as the lane had been used by him for over twenty years and that was his preferred gate (there are other gates to the fields he can use).

That evening, the woman told us she and another man had put the boulder back, and this man had also put a car alongside the gate, blocking full access now. He also damaged my gate.

This man owns field the lane ends in, so he uses it to access his field, the women use it to access their house and my uncle, until now, had used it to access my field. This lane had once been part of an old public road.

This man is maintaining he owns the lane - it has always been used by different people with NO mention of anyone owning it. My u cow talked to him but the man threatened to beat him up, leaving my uncle very shaken.

He pulled a gun on his own brother once and is considered violent - I've heard a lot of scary stories about him so further discussion with him is out of the question. He lives a little further down the main road so it feels like he is doing this to my uncle for fun.

Does anyone have any advice? We are in NI - would a solicitor be able to check deeds and the registry to see if he is, as we suspect, lying about owning the lane?

Hopefully the diagram will appear. Yellow marks are the gates. Sorry this is so long!!!

Not sure on NI but there must be ownership records available somewhere. What a palaver.
Can you approach from the angle of not blocking your access? Like there is form driveways in some areas?.

I was just now reading your post about your husband making coleslaw and ketchup sandwiches!

I chatted to a neighbour of mine and she thinks I can find out if it's public by getting a folio number from the solicitor and checking the Land Registry...it will mean a trip to Belfast but that's ok. Then if it's public, I can ask the police to clear the pathway.

It's such a palaver...I think this man is trying to upset us. He only has the field he owns because he took advantage of an elderly, bachelor farmer some years ago. The community was shocked by it and his name is absolute mud. He is a very intimidating man so we really don't want it to escalate.

I used to do conveyancing but in E&W. It may be very different in NI so please read with that in mind.

The Land Registry have something called Map Search. It is only for business users as far as I'm aware. You could ask a law firm who have both residential/commercial property/conveyancing [and possibly a litigation department] to have a look to see if the land is registered. It would cost £3 to see the title, and, therefore, owner if it is registered. If it isn't then it would be very difficult to prove ownership as only the land owner would have the Deeds.

Have you also checked on the local councils or OS map to see if it is a public right of way? Again, in England we can see on the County Councils website an interactive map showing all rights of way of a given post code.

Sorry if none of this is helpful or relevant but I hope at least some is.

The fact that your uncle has been using the land for 20 years (along with others) may give him some rights of access but you would need legal advice about this

Happyher that's what I think - the woman also told my husband she had left space for his tractor to get through as the boulder only blocked part of the access. It was only when my uncle moved it that the man got involved and he put the boulder back, breaking the gate and leaving it unable to be opened, and blocking the rest of the access with his car. We always believed the lane to be public.

@PositivePeters thanks so much for- that's really helpful. My husband checked the OS map and it seems to be public. On Tuesday I will make an appointment with the solicitor and find out if he owns it or not. If he doesn't, hopefully the police will get him to move it. If he does, we won't pursue it.

I just feel horrible for my uncle. All his brothers are gone and I'm sure he feels unsupported with this and shaken up. He's nearly eighty and doesn't deserve this.

This is what the map shows.

I believe then if it is a public right of way he shouldn't be blocking regardless of whether he maintains the land or not. He also shouldn't have broken your property (the gate) and presumably that's a criminal damage offence?!

The pp is right too. Over 20 years unrestricted use would give rise to a prescriptive easement (assumed right of way). I think you can lodge such rights at the Land Registry. I know you could for adverse possession which is slightly different. A lawyer will be able to advise.

@FinallyFinalGirl Post your query on gardenlaw forum, there will be people on there who know about NI right of access law.

That's brilliant PositivePeters thank you. And all the posters.

Yes twenty years or even more my uncle has been up and down that little lane. If it's public and I can then ask the police to get that man to clear it, I will also tell them about the gate. He's such a vile man....I feel he's doing this out of spite. He told his brother once to get out of his field, beat him with the butt of a rifle and threatened to shoot him.

Thank you Schloss. I will!! Thank you so much!😊

One last thing from me. Check your own deeds for the field. You may actually have a legal right of way over that lane anyway. It should show on the plan to the deeds for ease but written too. Rights are usually coloured brown in England. Any way best of luck with it all.

The man sounds a right nasty piece of work. I hope you and your family are ok.

You might want to mention to the police that this man is threatening your uncle with a gun. That's a serious thing and should lead to the man's firearms/ shotgun licence being revoked.

Thank you so much PositivePeters. He's horrific...what kind of man, in his forties, tells an elderly man he wants to beat him up? I'm also really disappointed the two women are joining gin...I was kind of friendly with one of them but I saw today she is using her car to block the gate when he needed to take his away for a bit. It's bullying.

I will go over the deeds with the solicitor and see what they say. Thank you all for your advice - I feel much better about it now.

Feckedup, he 'just' threatened to beat my uncle up...he pulled a gun on his brother. That's why I'm afraid if it escalating. He's insane.

People describe him as a 'smiling assassin'. He comes across as reasonable and sensible when you first meet him, but he is anything but.

Wouldn't it be a shame if your uncle couldn't get into your field with his tractor, so had to abandon it blocking the lane for the two 'ladies'

Though this would probably be antagonist and it sounds like it's not a nest you want to poke. Which is what these kind of people rely on

lol Oldraver, my brother in law is hard as nails and his friends are the same. We were tossing around some ideas today about them blocking that man's driveway with a concrete boulder to see how he likes it.

We won't but it sure feels tempting. The woman I was friendly with, I never want to speak to again.

@FinallyFinalGirl I have just looked at gardenlaw forum and it looks like it has either been hacked or there is some kind of spam threads been posted. May be worth waiting a couple of days if you were going to try it.

@schloss I noticed all the spam threads on the first pages of the forum. Once you go past those it seems fine but I will wait a few days for the spam to clear. I spent last night reading through the threads on the Access/Right of Way board and found them really helpful.

I'm hoping it comes back that the road is public (I will be very surprised if it isn't) and then we can get it cleared. I think the people doing this are doing it because my other uncle who had been the landowner of my fields, has recently died and I'm his only relative here. They probably thought they could make a grab for the lane, being as intimidating as possible, and I would be too soft to object.

That is good it may be able to help, hopefully someone will come along on there with definitive info.

Why is he driving a trailer onto her drive though? When he uses that gate to access the field and has a trailer to haul, does he need to drive onto her property (her driveway) to manoeuvre? If he is using her driveway to make his turn, then he is in the wrong. And I understand them starting to block it off. He isn’t just accessing the field, he is driving crap over her property in order to manoeuvre into the field. That’s not on.

Agree that the tractor driver shouldn't be using the woman's drive to turn but if that is the case, speak to the tractor driver about it! Don't just put a boulder across the access to the field.

When I told him she said this, he insisted he has never done this and tbh, she has lived there for a few years now and she has never once mentioned it. We told her to go speak to him but she wouldn't...just put the boulder there. I have booked an appointment with the solicitor for next Wednesday.

The stress it is causing is unreal...all this over a gate. Just too many stubborn personalities.

And I understood them not wanting him in their drive and fully supported it. I told him to use the other gate but he insisted he had never been on her drive and they just want to land grab the lane. My uncle being stubborn, the man being so vile and threatening to him and the woman so aggressive to us has spiralled everything out of control.

I’d be taking what your uncle says with a pinch of salt here. And consider that he may be bending the truth and has used her driveway at some point but probably not regularly.

Remember that there is what she says, then what he says and the truth will be somewhere in the middle. Not always, but most likely.

If anyone threatened to assault my 80 year old relative I'd have either called the police or gone round with someone bigger than him and scared the living shit out of him.

Yet, nothing. This is how bullies stay bullies. People letting them get away with it.