Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Neighbour’s ‘booby traps’ and MH

155 replies

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:22

Not an AIBU, posting here for traffic as I’ve posted briefly about it before in chat under my main name but it got no responses. I’ve never experienced anything like this and am incredibly concerned for my neighbour’s mental state and well-being. I need some advice on what to do next and who to contact. Enviromental health are already involved but I haven’t shown them the ‘booby trap’ yet.

They are an older couple who don’t work or rarely ever leave the house, roughly aged 60-70. I know that they are alcoholics from my neighbour the other side who mentioned they make their own wine and I have seen them stood out in the street with wine glasses, sat out on the front with beers etc during the day on weekdays. Their glass bin is always absolutely full to the brim of wine and beer bottles on collection day. How much they drink is none of my business but I’m just worried for them. They have been aggressive and hostile towards me on a few occasions. Banging on my door and slurring words about ridiculous complaints, e.g. asking me to move my car from outside my own house on a public road because it’s ‘obstructing their view’, about 3yo DD playing quietly in the back garden during day time etc. I’ve only smiled and said hello a few times in passing in the whole 3 years I’ve lived here so there’s nothing to incite their behaviour towards me. I try my best to avoid them as they do terrify me a bit and seem very unpredictable.

They are very paranoid and scared of something or someone. They never have any visitors (I work from home so am in most of the time) so don’t have support, even at Christmas I’ve never seen anyone come near their house. They have 3 cameras on the front of their house, 3 on the back and one pointing down the shared driveway down the back of the terrace. They have multiple security lights that could light a whole football pitch. We live in a nice quiet area and never get any trouble. Most recently though they have added as me and family can only describe as make shift booby traps. I was confused about the glass panels they’ve recently added but then I realised they’ve put them up to hide the main part of the booby trap from me and the council. They were in the front garden when EH turned up about their dog noise so they knew what was going on. They installed the glass panels the day after EH visited. I’ll let the photos explain as I really can’t! Do I contact the police or some sort of charity for older people? I’m currently 6 months pregnant and I do kind of fear for my own safety if they are so paranoid. DH mentioned that if they have all of that security and are that fixated then they could have weapons in the house, even maybe a gun. I honestly don’t know what to do! My house is rented so should I at the very least tell my landlord? The blurry pic shows the booby trap which is a block of wood extended out of the fence with nails sticking directly up outwards so if someone were to put their hand on it getting over the wall it would cut them. It’s shoddy quality as I’ve zoomed in to respect their privacy. As you can tell from the pics they’ve also put huge rocks on top of my wall for some reasonConfused

Neighbour’s ‘booby traps’ and MH
Neighbour’s ‘booby traps’ and MH
OP posts:
FudgeBrownie2019 · 31/10/2019 10:27

Are the long pointy parts nails? If so, surely that's not legal?

I'd keep my head down and have absolutely nothing to do with them, but if you're worried perhaps also check if it's legal to have nails like that on an outside wall and alert the police anonymously.

MyKingdomForBrie · 31/10/2019 10:27

That's anti cat fencing.

Winterdaysarehere · 31/10/2019 10:28

Ring the police and ask for advice.

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:30

Yeah there’s metal spikes, plastic pigeon spikes and nails sticking out of that piece of wood sharp side up. They’ve have tonnes of bird feeders so it’s clearly not for birds and as far as I’m aware there’s no cats around. I will do my best to avoid them from now on, it’s all very bizarre. Should I talk to a community officer about the legalities since it’s also on a boundary

OP posts:
scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:31

I don’t have a cat and neither does anyone else as far as I’ve seen. We’re a stand alone terrace of 8 houses at least 20 minutes walk from any other house so there’s probably not many cats from elsewhere hanging about

OP posts:
AfterSchoolWorry · 31/10/2019 10:32

It looks like spikes to stop cats coming in!

WorraLiberty · 31/10/2019 10:33

It does look like cat spikes.

How do you know they're paranoid and that they haven't upset someone and been threatened though?

Not sure you should be whipping yourself into a frenzy about guns though. That'll do you no good.

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:36

I’m not concerned about the spikes, I’m concerned about the bit of wood with rusty nails sticking out of it! And the fact they’re clearly hiding it with the panels of frosted glass so they know it’s wrong. I’m just lucky I got a pic before they put the glass up. Why on earth in a quiet area with a low crime rate would you need a ‘booby trap’ like that? It is clearly for if someone was trying to climb over in the dark and they’d put their foot/hand through it. From the placement of the booby trap it seems they’ve got it in their head that someone is going to use my wall partnered with the end of their extension to hoist themselves into their garden

OP posts:
SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 31/10/2019 10:36

I can't quite make out the photos, do you mean the cat spikes?

SomeHalfHumanCreatureThing · 31/10/2019 10:36

Sorry, xpost

ChardonnaysDistantCousin · 31/10/2019 10:38

If they have bird feeders then that’s to prevent cats coming in and killing the birds.

VanGoghsDog · 31/10/2019 10:41

I think you're overreacting. Lots of people do this sort of thing. I mean, I wouldn't, but people do.

Those don't look like what I would call huge rocks. And the conjecture about a gun is ridiculous.

Just ignore them unless they do things on your side of the wall. You can move the huge rocks if they are on your wall and you don't want them there.

Beveren · 31/10/2019 10:42

To be honest, I'm struggling to understand why this is a threat to you.

VanGoghsDog · 31/10/2019 10:43

I think it's a fence panel that fell over and they put the glass panels there instead of fixing it.

I’m just lucky I got a pic before they put the glass up.

You do sound a bit paranoid yourself you know.

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:43

So attaching panels of glass on top of your fence to hide a piece of wood with nails sticking out is normal?

OP posts:
scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:44

Their fence is completely fine as it’s attached to my wall

OP posts:
Tyersal · 31/10/2019 10:45

So older couple who don't work don't leave the house much or have visitors, sad but not abnormal.
Older couple possibly feel vulnerable so have security cameras, again not abnormal.
Home made wine, fairly common hobby amongst retired people.
Spikes on fence again not uncommon and not the first time I've seen them on a wall.
Complaining about noise from child playing, lots of threads about that on here.
Are you sure it's not you with the issue?

SnippedYerBarbour · 31/10/2019 10:45

I don't understand what the glass panels are meant to be hiding?

VanGoghsDog · 31/10/2019 10:45

You have no idea if they did it to hide the piece of wood. They may not even know it has nails sticking out.

Just pick up the piece of wood as it is now on your wall and throw it away.

Do you need a hobby or something?

64sNewName · 31/10/2019 10:46

I mean they do sound grim, but you and/or your DH are making a pretty big leap to start thinking they might have guns.

This is probably worrying you more than it should. Maybe a sort of displacement worry as there are other big things (pregnancy) going on for you right now?

No harm in having a low-key chat to police non-emergency number though if you feel intimidated.

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:48

This is what I’m concerned about and if this is to stop cats then it’s illegal as rusty nails will injure them. I know the spikes on the actual fence are perfectly illegal. I could see this piece of wood from my upstairs window so took a pic as I was concerned. It’s hard to make out but there’s about 6 nails sticking out sharp side up. This is now hidden by the glass panels after enviromental health visited me and another neighbour about their dog

Neighbour’s ‘booby traps’ and MH
OP posts:
ThreeLittleDots · 31/10/2019 10:48

Unless it's unsafe to you I'd leave them to it.

frogsbreath · 31/10/2019 10:48

Where I live in terraces housing most people have a yard with high walls rather than a garden. On the top of the walls it varies from anti cat fencing bought out a shop, nails stuck out from wood and even some have large shards of glass sticking out of concrete .

All hideous but I suppose legal and serves a purpose.

I've no idea why the glass panels because it only hides a small portion of the top wall, it's obvious it has spikes all along.

scaredneighbour · 31/10/2019 10:48

The spikes are legal not illegal! Apologies

OP posts:
64sNewName · 31/10/2019 10:49

FWIW though, I don’t really get the glass panels bit. If there are now glass panels hiding (therefore obstructing/blocking) the spiky thing, surely that means nobody would be able to put their hand through those and get spiked?