Was I rude or unreasonable.

[Rosie342]

I don't think I was though I'm open to being told otherwise.
I'd asked my husband to go out and get our bin in after the bin men had been. He came back saying some of the local children and their parents had put all the bins at the top and bottom of the alley to block it off while the kids played. He didn't want to go down while to parent where there, all drinking, smoking and being loud to get the bin because he couldn't be bothered with the argument.
I said fine, I'm not scared of them and will go get it myself. (He's had run ins with one of the mother's ex partners at the pub, resulting in him being in hospital due to them smacking him with a glass bottle) So that's what I did, infront of them and their children I grabbed my bin and wheeled it back up the alley into my yard, destroying their wall of bins. This resulted in them calling me a "miserable cow" and blaming me if their children where to get run over if they wondered near the road. I ignored them and locked my gate. But now I'm wondering if I should have just left it and waited till the morning because they are increasingly loud and their children and running around screaming and moving bins up and down the alley loudly.
Was I unreasonable or rude for just grabbing my bin and ruining their makeshift barrier?

It's the OPs bin. Why should she have to wait to use her own bin?

The OP had dirty nappies and rubbish that she wanted out of the house. It is her bin, she needed it.

I would only save politeness for people deserving of it not arsehole neighbors.

Yanbu I had my lovely clean recycling bin taken and was left with someone's manky bin

YANBU! Having had 2 brand new bins stolen by neighbours that cost £20(?) to replace, I bring mine in ASAP

I don't think you were unreasonable but I do think that maybe you were giving yourself more aggro than you need. Yes it's irritating and they're awful people but with no immediate plans to move you do have to live with them and they were using them, rightly or wrongly, for a purpose. Personally I'd have either left it and asked them nicely to put it back after or put the rubbish in while they were using it then tried to make it inaccessible in the future.
I had neighbours like this before, it's horrible but I'd choose making my life easy while you have to live there.
I can understand why your partner might be feeling a bit emasculated though, maybe an apology wouldn't hurt. I can understand your side though.

Sometimes, for a quiet life you need to bite your tongue. I think you were quite right to take your bin back, but you could have done it by making a witty comment, rather than making your bin the centre of some sort of hostage situation.

In this scenario as it was being used to protect the kids, I'd have left it. I'd just have shoved my rubbish outside the back door and then got it later. I'd not have seen the big deal in waiting awhile.

It's not the OPs responsibility to donate her wheelie bin because these children's parents can't be bothered to watch the kids.

She was hardly donating it, they were just using it like everyone else's, for a short period. It's hardly a big deal. Why so aggressive?

I'm not being aggressive I just think the idea that someone with smelly rubbish to get rid should have to wait to use her own bin is ridiculous. I also think borrowing someone else's wheelie bin like that is very rude.

Ok, well for me, as said, it's a one off, they were using everyone's bins, and to protect the kids playing, from cars entering the area, I'd happily have sat my rubbish outside the back door for a couple of hours until they'd finished. No biggie.

I'm also of the pick your battles school of thought and this to me wouldn't be one I'd think to engage in.

I get you don't think it's ok and wouldn't have allowed it, and that's fine too. 🤷‍♀️

I think I'm maybe biased as I live in an area with a lot of foxes, rubbish wouldn't last 10 minutes