Returned home to find neighbour in my garden

[OyO]

I don’t know what to think about this.

I’m supposed to be at work all day, as normal. Came home early with some kind of sickness bug to find my neighbour standing in my garden chopping away at a hedge.

I was completely startled and said ‘hello? Can I help you?’ To which she responded: ‘well you were never going to cut it’ and brazenly carried on. I asked her to get out of my garden, she took her time and then climbed a ladder to go over the fence and back to her side. She’s now leaning over the hedge into my garden and still trimming it.

I’m at a loss. She’s so brazen I’m not sure if I’m being unreasonable in thinking she’s cheeky or not.

We have a 6ft fence separating us half way then a 5ft hedge. The hedge belongs to her and sits on her boundary. It’s an unruly hedge which overhangs into our garden and has done for the last 3 years (since we moved in). Our cat lounges under the overhang as it offers shelter and we have a family of dunnocks that live in the actual hedge. They’ve been there for years and we feed them daily plus have a bird bath for them.

The cat is now terrified hiding indoors right now and the dunnock nest has clearly been disturbed due to how far back she’s cut the hedge.

It’s a private garden. She’s in her 70s and doesn’t speak to anyone except to police their gardens. She once collected up all of the blossom from her front garden that had fallen from someone’s tree and dumped it on their drive (it blew back again ).

She’s right, I was never going to cut it back because I didn’t want it cutting back. Is she allowed to do this?

I’m also worried that she may pop into the garden whenever she feels like because she really didn’t seem to fussed about me catching her.

Stefoscope - but, assuming you're in the UK, you're supposed to give her the clippings of her hedge to dispose of anyway. Just chuck 'em all back over!

MAN UP AND GRAB A HOSE

I know I’m coming across as timid but I really don’t want to deal with her in a confrontational way today. It would be like arguing with a Martian, she doesn’t seem to comprehend what constitutes normal behaviour.

I’m most bothered about the birds. But also the cheek of it and how she can be such a control freak that she would actually drag a set of ladders out, climb over a fence and trim a hedge.

It’s a very good point about having an ongoing dispute if selling, we are actually looking to move next year. More reason to report her for distributing the nest though in the hope she learns her lesson and doesn’t do it once we’ve left.

It doesn’t matter if it’s hers, she can’t enter your property or trim it on your side without permission. She could cut the whole thing down on her side, but she cannot enter your land.

Disturbing nests is a big deal. I would absolutely tell her to stop now and tell her that she is breaking the law. I would also report her.

April please can I borrow your gorgeous useful deterrent mine is old and deaf and just lies in the sun and gets her belly rubbed.
Op not sure whether I'm gobsmaked at her brass neck or slightly in awe

Gosh people are weird, I'd report her, that RSPB link is good! At least it's taking your mind off the sickness bug, get well soon OP!

Cheeky bitch, If I had found her in my garden I would have turned the hose on her soaking her through then claimed I thought she was an intruder.

If she had taken a tumble coming over the fence what would have happened !!!!

What I can't understand is why she's even bothered about your side of the hedge; after all if it's 5ft high she won't even be able to see the overgrown part on your side

No need to start a feud unless she's determined to ... just go out there and say "can you leave that alone, please". If she argues, politely point out that she's not allowed to interfere with your garden and ask her to leave

Get a grip, go out and ask her to stop as there’s birds nesting.

ThumbWitches - She'd love that! I'd be sure to accidently catch a few dandelion seeds in with the clippings! She expects her neighbours to pull out every single dandelion, so she doesn't get them contaminating her lawn. I don't get how people can care that much about their neighbours gardens that they actually take it upon themselves to pass comment or even go round there. I suppose if it's full of rubbish/vermin that's a different matter.

Hope the birds are ok op.

assuming you're in the UK, you're supposed to give her the clippings of her hedge to dispose of anyway. Just chuck 'em all back over! You're supposed to offer them back, not simply give them back. And if you simply chuck them back over you are technically fly-tipping.

OP there is no ongoing dispute if you just tell her to not enter your land and warn her about breaking the law.

If you report it and official action is taken, or you take official action then you have to put it down as a dispute.

If you are going to report her for disturbing the birds' nests then at least take a photo of her clipping the top. Otherwise she may counter claim that you were the one who clipped the hedge, and as it's your side that has been clipped back it would be hard to prove it was done by her.

I know I’m coming across as timid but I really don’t want to deal with her in a confrontational way today.

^You won’t ever do it then will you OP? You are a pushover

I don't understand why your side of the hedge being overgrown by her standards should affect her.

We've always cut our side of the hedges but nothing we can't reach from our side. Our neighbours are always complaining that our trees (which were there when they bought) cast shadows into their garden at certain times of day, so we had them trimmed as a goodwill gesture, but they just kept on complaining because obviously they grew back again. This has unfortunately now turned into an argument as last time we went halves with them on tree trimming, the contractor butchered one of my DH's favourite trees to within an inch of its life, and he sent a rude email full of capitals and exclamation marks to the neighbour. Much better not to fall out if possible, but I'd feel very uneasy about a neighbour accessing my garden without permission so it needs nipping in the bud (to use an appropriate gardening metaphor!)

doesn’t seem to comprehend what constitutes normal behaviour.

How do you reckon she’d be with topless sunbathing (yours not hers)?
It’s not illegal, but I bet she’d be quick enough to worry about social niceties then.

(In fact - just send me round there. I regularly go topless in our garden- not to annoy anyone, but just cos I enjoy it. The price of getting rid of your dunnocks is she gets an endless sight of my tits.

She’s finished now. Left all of the trimmings strewn over my grass. She’d already done the worst to the side of the hedge where the birds live by the time I got back and was making a start on the next bit by leaning over but she can’t reach far enough.

Does anyone know what steps the RSPB takes next after it receives a report?

Tell her its illegal to disturb nesting birds.

OP: is she cutting your side of the hedge (not OK) or is she just cutting the top of the hedge, which involves leaning over to reach the part that is closest to your side?

With a wide hedge and an average trimmer (i.e. a non-pole one), it can be impossible to cut the entire top without climbing a ladder and reaching over. Otherwise you end up with a trimmed part and a kind of sticking-up fringe!

She thinks you are lazy and need taking in hand. You need to make a stand and point out that you are not lazy, you just have a different view of garden maintence. When my neighbour did this I pointed out that
"that is your garden, this is mine, do not come in my garden ever"
then he said I was lazy and he was improving things
"No, I do not like your garden and do not want you to ruin mine. Stay out"

Repeat.

Now she's done it she'll be back. And she'll expect you to be grateful. Meddling old busybodies! Mine was like a character out of an Enid Blyton story - grumpy meddling old man!

Try a loud "OY! You! Hop it! Get off the ladders ....you're too old and your disturbing my property and nesting birds"
Shout loudly "you've killed a birds nest there you have! I'm reporting you"

As a fellow twitcher all my fledglings including my dunnocks fledged last week so hopefully she’s not caused too much harm

It’s joyful here with all the babies learning to fly and feed at the moment

this time last summer my neighbours did much like yours and chopped all their mature border down really displacing but this year the birds settled back in like nothing happened

I'm just in awe of her being 70yo, popping over to your property via a ladder, carting ladder around etc. Sucks about the hedge and birds though.

Get out there and dump the trimmings back in her garden. She is walking all over you and you are meekly letting her. Thrn ring the council about the nests.

"Left all of the trimmings strewn over my grass."

Gather them all up and dump them on her drive?

I can tell how upset you are but if you are thinking of moving then I would either - go round & fake an apology to agree when the hedge could be cut & when she is coming to remove the branches or leave it. You will not persuade her she is wrong. She hasn’t form for going in your garden. Any boundary dispute - however bogus - could be seriously annoying during your sale and if you are moving you don’t have to put up with her for long. This could run and run if you don’t let it go.