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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to call the police as a tree my neighbour hated has started dying in the last few weeks

141 replies

sPJPPp · 13/03/2015 19:56

My neighbour hates my trees, always complaining about them and has offered to pay to have them cut down, but I like the privacy they provide even though they are a bit ugly (golden cypress).

Last weekend I noticed it was going a bit brown, and its defiantly got worse. I'm sure they have poisoned one of them. Aibu to go to the police?

OP posts:
JustDerppingAround · 13/03/2015 22:38

BOFster I won't tell anyone if you don't Wink

JustDerppingAround · 13/03/2015 22:41

Yew are knott being untreesonable

Confused
Bakeoffcake · 13/03/2015 22:47

Well, I'm honestly stumped at this thread.

Bakeoffcake · 13/03/2015 22:47

Mind yew, I expect the police wood get to the root of the problem.

iklboo · 13/03/2015 22:47

These puns are getting Acer by the minute. Your neighbour is trying divide and conker tactics. Don't bough to pressure.

TheDietStartsTomorrow · 13/03/2015 22:54

Yew are acorn-y person to immediate suspect foul play. Just because you took a Lichen to the tree doesn't mean your neighbour should be left Pine-ing for sunlight.

Having said that, I do love a good j-oak and this thread has been pretty ferny but you all have probably driven OP over the hedge by now and this thread will just get more Poplar even though you made the OP Leaf.

usualsuspect333 · 13/03/2015 22:59

hehehe, this thread has proper made me laugh. And that doesn't happen very often anymore on here.

Flowers to the OP.

Bakeoffcake · 13/03/2015 23:00

"Driven the OP over the Hedge". Grin brilliant TheDiet.

backwardpossom · 13/03/2015 23:12

Poor OP, just came on looking for some advice and you've gone all puntastic on her/him. You're all barking.

FyreFly · 13/03/2015 23:31

Hi OP, I hope you're still reading.

This would be a civil matter and not a police one, so if you do have definite evidence that the tree is being poisoned then you would need to engage a solicitor. If you can provide proof that he's caused damage to the tree then you could take him to court to cover the cost of works and / or a new tree.

In the immediate term, before you start spending money on a solicitor, I would approach your neighbour to ask if he's been spraying any chemicals around; although it's unlikely, he may have been weedkilling and inadvertently affected your tree. I would also start taking photos so you have before and after pictures.

If the neighbour says he's not doing anything to your tree then your next step would be to get a tree surgeon out to have a look at it. It could well be a fungus or some other natural cause. I've seen healthy trees die in front of my eyes in the space of a couple of weeks, and if it is something nasty then you don't want it spreading. A tree surgeon would also be able to advise if it does look like being chemical / poison. I understand that there are tests that can be run to detect poisons, but I don't know how expensive they are.

Talk to your neighbour and get a tree surgeon in for a professional opinion.

RandomNPC · 13/03/2015 23:35

This would be a civil matter

That would be an ecumenical matter

Bakeoffcake · 13/03/2015 23:42

But, to be serious for a mo, even of the tree had been poisoned, how can anyone prove it was the neighbour?

Even if he had a big can of tree killer sat in his garage, noone can prove the neighbour did it.

puds11isNAUGHTYnotNAICE · 13/03/2015 23:43

Yew are all being unTREEsonable! Poor OP! There are no more leaves of green for her, I just hope to god he stays away from the red roses!

Lilmissconcerned · 13/03/2015 23:47

No I wouldn't call the police... Unless you can prove it, your just wasting everyone's time. You'd better calling the council/tree expert.

The comments on here cheered me right up... 'Special branch' Grin

januaryjan · 13/03/2015 23:52

Hold the Cone the neighbour could easily accuse the OP of planting evidence.

I'd say this is definitely a job for Jonathan Creek.

Or at the very least Alan Titchmarsh.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 13/03/2015 23:53

About time they brought back the birch for neighbours like this ...

SoleSource · 13/03/2015 23:56

I think you're up a gumtree.

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 13/03/2015 23:59

Lol at big can of tree killer. Nice and subtle.

SoleSource · 13/03/2015 23:59

If you call the special branch you'll just look like a sap.

SoleSource · 14/03/2015 00:02

I'd tell the branch manager.

CakeUpWall · 14/03/2015 00:18

Just googled and this is what a defiant tree looks like. Quite sweet actually; how could anyone hate that?

Bakeoffcake · 14/03/2015 00:23
Shock

OP Yewr neighbour has been at it before!!

www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/11259754.Can_you_help_police_trace_Falmouth_tree_killer_/?ref=la

Behooven · 14/03/2015 00:31

I thought this was a wind up! Just twigged it's serious. I hate my neighbours defiant trees, they are just so intransigent.

januaryjan · 14/03/2015 00:31

Bakeoffcake Grin

You make it sound like the OP lives in Midsomer Maples.

Icicleinmyhand · 14/03/2015 00:33

Don't know why there are so many biscuits on this thread! This happened to me over two protected trees in my garden/on the boundary which were stopping a neighbour getting planning permission for a garden grab (selling off his garden for lots of cash for luxury housing). One tree which was completely healthy suddenly went brown and died within a couple of weeks; the other - a 400 year old protected tree which was leaning slightly, actually fell over was pushed during the night before the Council planning officers were due to arrive at 9am to take photographic evidence of the site for tree conservation :(

We couldn't prove it, so he got away with it, but thankfully the bastard still didn't get his planning permission because we were so upset at the trees that we organised a huge campaign of neighbours to object. Serves him right, the tree murdering fucker Angry