Messy Neighbours

[BornSicky]

Argh! I'm running out of non-commital shoulder-shrugs and "pleasant" smiles.

Over the last six months, my messy neighbours have:

Left toys all over the front garden and road/pavement over night and sometimes for days. A forlorn tractor made its way down the block and back over the course of a week.

Scattered litter across the garden, into mine, over the road and down the street. They put their rubbish out the front on a verge (not in their garden) everyday and by bin day there's piles everywhere and the cats have been at the bags.

Kicked up the plants in their front garden and left dirt and stones strewn all over the rod, my garden and the pavement.

AIBU to want to build a bloody high fence between my front garden and theirs, (bearing in mind my front garden is only about 6ft deep out to the pavement), and to stop clearing up their mess, which I usually pick up/sweep up and deposit by their path?

Build a waist-high low wall between your front garden and theirs?

sorely tempted, but it would look very odd, as it would be the only separating fence on the whole block.

Just so terribly frustrated by it all, but still don't want to cause a ruck with the neighbours, as I have to live next to them.

Build a small fence around your garden. Report them to the waste disposal department at the council because leaving rubbish out all week is unhygenic.

would a compromise (i.e inoffensive sounding) be a low picket fence? Hopefully just enough to say, "please don't step over", but not enough to say "grr!!"?

yes, probably should phone environmental health.

Report them, the rubbish will attract vermin. Are they renting or do they own their own home? If they are renting you can complain to their landlord. If you can build a fence, do. Sounds awful, yanbu.

My sister's garden looked like this.

Her neighbour's reported her to the local council and she got a visit from someone who said unless she cleared it up she'd be fined a lot of money.

She was completely , I think she'd not really realised how awful it was. She's not really disgusting she's just a single mum with a f/t job and not a lot of support. (She is also very scary when annoyed which is why I'd not done more than feebly suggest she may wish to tidy up a bit outside which made her make this face ).

Her garden is always spotless now.

I'd build the fence, personally. I'm quite messy but rubbish left out all week is disgusting.

As for the toys, if they are on their property then it's their prerogative to be slobs - if it's straying onto yours, then it's okay to object.

fence it is! I have got some wood offcuts that I can use, so will probably just go for it!

feak i sympathise entirely. tis not the case with my neighbours, sadly. If they cared/apologised/acknowledged I would just take it in my stride (and probably help), but they honestly know how bad it is and don't give a stuff.

We had this problem, so we put a couple of big plant pots down the middle with baby conifers in and then another one next to the front door, so it looked like a feature rather than a demarcation, if that makes sense.

Oh dear - reporting sounds like the way forward then. They won't know it was you. I was advocating it before - I know it sounds like I wasn't, but I was - it was the only thing that could have got her to clear it up.

There's probably a link on your local council's homepage to do it.

(I love your username btw!)

Just actually read your post properly, sorry

Yy to fence. Fence it up. Block 'em off.

piggy i tried the plant pot thing already, but they've been shoved about and the plants are not looking very happy! i thought it would work!

feak thankee! and yes, anonymous reporting sounds ok, especially as I think it must be blindingly obvious to anyone walking our street!

YANBU

I personally can't stand toys being strewn all over my back garden and just left, so I would absolutely do my slightly OCD nut if this was to happen OUT THE FRONT !!!

Fence sounds like a good idea. Are you going to put the fence around your whole front garden or just the side between you and them and not the front or the other side?

If you do the whole garden it won't look so obviously aimed at them and if they say anything about you can tell them that it was to stop dogs pooing on your lawn or something.

I agree you should go with the fence then, or some short trellis or a small wall.

I think I'll have to fence the lot, or risk some raised eyebrows fishwife shouting in the street!

Razor wire?

electric fencing?