Deeply unpleasant neighbour with right of way over our land.

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Sorry this is in the wrong topic. Couldn't find a legal section. Any lawyers about, I would appreciate some guidance. Having difficulty finding the right person as it involves mild harassment and a right of way. I've tried to condense but it's clearly not my strong point.

We recently moved into a home accessed by a lane belonging to a farmer. We have access over the farmer's part of the lane and he has right of way over the part of the lane on our land. It's the only way he can access the fields at the end of the lane. The lane ends on our land, with a field. The farmer ceremoniously drives up the lane every Sunday afternoon and reverses slowly back, without acknowledging us. Strange but fine. Beside our home is a cottage belonging to the farmer. It's occupied by a tenant of the farmer who is 'warden'. Technically he also has access over our land because he 'cares' for the land. (He doesn't care for the land, didn't care for the horses there over the winter and never needed to go down this lane until the weather got nice enough for walks, but that's beside the point). This warden seemed over-involved from the start and he's clearly lonely. He generated drama by encouraging us to go into one of the farmer's fields for a walk, then making out we were in trouble because we had done this. There were variations on this theme and we realised it was just drama being generated by someone who likes drama. Eventually we told him we would communicate directly with the farmer in future and we backed off. Then the trouble began.

We have to walk/ drive past his home to get to the road. He allows his dog to intimidate my children (who love dogs so this was quite difficult to achieve), rushes out with weedkiller if we walk down the lane, stands waiting for me at the top if I'm out on my own, throws our wheelie bins over the hedge and eventually blocked the lane completely with his car one night to rant at my partner. Much swearing, vague threats and apparently he has a side we don't want to see and we should feel warned. We haven't dealt with this before in our lives and yes, we felt threatened and worried.

He walks into the trajectory of my car when I drive past and then uses his outrage (because I don't slam the brakes on - why would I when he's not on the path?) to come and rage at us in front of the children as we're getting out of the car. He will 'accidently' swerve his wheelbarrow into our path as I'm walking the children up the lane. It seems mostly a cry for attention. He will now go and stand in our lane to have a smoke, just because he can. It doesn't sound like much and we've established that there's not enough here for police or civil action. Someone has mentioned a 'binding over of the peace' - does that sound like a possibility? We have horses, small children, dogs that could easily be harmed. I'm concerned he'll do something to my children's ponies and break their hearts. We found an elastic band around the neck of our dog the other day that had to be cut off by the vet and while it was probably our own fault, I hadn't seen that elastic band before. It's reached the point where we're quite happy for him to vandalise the wheelie bins if it keeps him occupied but obviously it's escalating because we continue to be a happy family going for walks and not bowing to him as monarch of the lane. I feel extremely stressed knowing he can pop up anywhere on our land and he doesn't stick to the lane, either. There's no point putting up a gate because he can just walk through it, as warden. He has also announced that if we meet his car when we're driving up the lane, we must reverse out onto the main road again if he's more than halfway up it. Sounds fair enough but the opening is on a blind corner that needs a mirror to get out with, even going the right way. I will not be reversing out of it but I'm concerned he'll scare the children and force us to abandon the car in the lane if we do meet him (it hasn't happened yet because he never goes anywhere).

So we're spending a fortune on CCTV, as the police advised, and keeping a harassment diary. We'd like to build a stone wall around the front of our property. It would be around 8 foot high and would border the part of the lane we own (which we're happy to write off for the sake of peace). It would cut off a great view but at this point, the only view we have is this man striding around anyway. I just want it all to stop. We spoke to the farmer to try and resolve this without a result. My partner has a condition that makes him vulnerable to COVID-19 if he's experiencing a flare-up and as these are related to stress, we'd like to move on from this issue as quickly as we can.

My questions:

• If you have right of way over a property for the purposes of caring for the land beyond, can you go there just to loiter and have a smoke?
• Is there a legal process whereby a judge could order that the lane be used for the purposes of accessing the land beyond only and not for going back and forth over our land (as he is currently doing)?
• Is there any legal reason why we wouldn't be able to build an 8 ft stone wall bordering the land on our own land? There would be no dwelling near it except our own home (and the warden's cottage, which is link detached to our farmhouse).
• Minor side issue - is the farmer within his rights to drive a half wild stallion up? He clearly can't get a headcollar on it and just drives it in front of him, at a gallop, from his quadbike. Without a heads up. Did I mention we have young children.

I'll continue to hunt for the right solicitor to help with this but everyone seems to have experience of either right of way or harassment, but not both.

Thanks so much if you have read this far.

Sorry, just realised it’s the warden harassing you and not the farmer.

Dash cam, body cam, cctv - record everything and take this to the farmer, also the family member who owns your house.

I think I would be tempted to move your ponies temporarily too and keep your dogs in.

yes should also add, our fence is actually not that tall. It's probably only 3 foot. But by putting it there, it totally stopped the people walking down the right of way loitering and walking over our land (even though it's all our land, including the right of way, it's just made the right of way more clearly demarcated so they stick to it)

if you did that, I assume he would then have to trespass on your land to get to your animals? cctv on the house pointing to the right of way is also important (as for him to vandalise it, again he has to trespass on your land to get to it)

we have a Netatmo outdoor video unit that is really excellent and I would recommend it

CCTV everywhere you want protected, he sounds the type to start sneaking around at night and messing with the animals.

I would move.

Ugh, this sounds awful. I am not sure why you think his behaviour does not warrant police involvement, it clearly meets the definition of harassment:
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/discrimination/taking-action-about-discrimination/taking-action-about-harassment/

As well as CCTV, you may wish to get a GoPro or similar bodycam to wear when you are using the lane.

How on earth would he have been able to break your dashcam in two? Isn’t it inside the car? And don’t leave the dog unattended.

I would have a few cameras around that are hidden. It sounds like he is targetting the ones he can see. I would make those dummy cameras and the real ones filming him doing the things he does.

Find out if his position as 'warden' is real or if he is self appointed.

Pressure on farmer and tell the owners of the home every detail of all of this in wroting and hopefully they will put pressure where it is needed to get this loon to stop or leave his home (hopefully the latter).

He doesn't sound very bright so outwitting him shouldn't be hard but don't let it go on for months for your own quality of life.

Get good quality evidence. Present it to all parties including the police and then if it isn't sorted within a month. Leave.

I wouldn't count on the farmer wanting to avoid legal costs. Most of the farmers I know (including my husband and all of my near neighbours) have legal insurance and some really enjoy a bit of legal action when it's not lambing or tupping time. There is surprisingly little drama in farming and some people have to get it from somewhere.

Was your house once owned by the farmer's family? If so, then your problem may be worse because that would make me worry about this being a planned campaign to get you out, rather than one man being a bastard and the other allowing it.

I'm fairly stubborn and hate to feel bullied or pushed out, but I think I would speak to the family member who owns your house and work out a way for you to get out of there.

Sounds like a nightmare. Your poor dog

Yes, I'd get the owners of the house to take this up with the farmer. If they realise it's not just you but a larger extended family working together that may give the farmer and his 'warden' pause for thought. If there's a danger to the property — if there's a chance he's going to cause damage — then perhaps the house insurance company would take it on.

How did your dash cam get broken? Are you saying that he broke into your car and broke it? Surely breaking into a car is a crime and the police should have been called?

By the way, as you own the lane and there are no neighbours who'd be adversely affected I think you probably can build an eight-foot wall.

You could consult agricultural solicitors. By way of example, in my area (rural Derbyshire) that would be someone like Nigel Davis. I don't work for them, by the way! Although the issues span different areas of law, it's not uncommon in the countryside for boundary and easement disputes to spill over into planning and criminal matters!

In terms of specifics, you first need to work out the parameters of the easement as follows:

• What's the physical extent of it? The whole width of the lane?

-What's the purpose of it? To access the private dwelling and the fields beyond? -What are its limitations? Owners and occupiers of the dwelling and fields? Visitors? Vehicles? Cattle? Horses? Daylight hours only? etc etc.

If the easement has been explicitly granted, it will be in your paperwork. If it has been acquired or, indeed, had its scope extended by a period of use, that's more difficult to work out. By way of example, the easement explicitly granted might be limited to foot, vehicles and horses, but if the farmer has been using it to drive, say, cattle for over 20 years without objection, the easement is perhaps now wider in scope.

Once you've done that, you can object to misuse or excessive. You might also be able to put in place some physical deterrents, subject to the scope of the easement and any necessary consents. Cattle grid, anyone?*

*don't actually do that.

These things are notoriously costly and protracted to resolve though. The further go you along the path, the more challenges you'll have if you come to sell on the property.

Money talks to many. I assume there's a reason the farmer didn't acquire the house himself. Is it possible for the farmer and the linked cottage to construct and use an alternative access?

Finally, YABU not to include a diagram...

@fivebrokentests

He's bullying you and you need to stand up to him. Tell him to fuck off. Tell him not to be ridiculous. Tell him that if he touches your fucking dogs again he'll see what happens. Guaranteed he'll back down. Always look directly at him and never back down. If he damages your bins, call the police. Insist thats they come out as you're worried for your safety and he will shit himself. If you spoke to the police the way you wrote this post then I'm not surprised they aren't taking it all that seriously. You seem intent on partially blaming yourself?

You don't have to live like this.

^ this and I'd be fucking furious if my relatives knew the situation before hand Involve them, they should be sorting this out

That sounds awful, I agree get lots of camers and build up a case. Talk to a solicitor and see where you stand, how young are your children? Could you put up an electric fence around your part not the shared road?

@HasaDigaEebowai

Is there any legal reason why we wouldn't be able to build an 8 ft stone wall bordering the land on our own land? There would be no dwelling near it except our own home (and the warden's cottage, which is link detached to our farmhouse). Yes on a residential property you can only fence or wall to a maximum of 6ft.

I'm a solicitor (but not in property and its 25 years since I studied land law) and I also live in a house with a "lane" over which others have right of way (to pass and repass on foot or in vehicles for themselves and their assigns). I'd double check the point above. Yes you can't build an 8 ft wall on the boundary of your property but this wouldn't be on the boundary of your property, it would be between your garden and your lane i.e right in the middle of your land.

Ours has a chain link fence and very tall trees plus tall bamboo separating the garden from the driveway so that we hardly see the driveway. It still after ten years annoys the fuck out of me though if I see people strolling down our driveway walking their dogs etc, particularly since there is another public access to those properties (albeit less direct and not as pretty) so its really not necessary. Some of the neighbours and their visitors also think its fine to speed down the hill at over 60 MPH because they're inconsiderate wankers. The only thing you can do IME is to stop thinking of it as your land.

We are considering speed bumps (mainly to annoy people so much that they stop using it) on the bit that we don't need to use. But do check the point about the wall since you might find you can build it after all.

I was thnking that too. Fences all around your property and inside it to separate the 'lane'.

Was also wondering if you have talked to the farmer and what are his thoughts about what is happening? Have you ever asked him what ahppened with the previous owner (That will probably give you a good nsight on how he is taking things too - supporting the 'warden' or not etc...)

Sadly you do get the odd mad bastard like this living in the country. They are people who would have been the 'odd one' in a village two hundred years ago but they are even less compatible with modern life. They live in the city too but there they tend to get labelled 'mad bastard' much faster whereas in rural areas people tend to know their history and / or be related in some way so they will say, 'Oh, that's just Fred's way.' He sounds like my friend's dad who was a horrible, abusive man but who was given quite unbelievable tolerance in the local area because he was a farmer from a line of farmers. It amounted to a kind of community level gaslighting which was very harmful to my friend (and her mother).

You can try the legal stuff to the farmer as it will be the pressure point needed but then he's likely to become a pain in the arse in a thousand petty ways. Or you can move. If you have moved in from outside you will always be a 'blow in' in the eyes of some of the people living there and they will see themselves as the people who truly have the rights.

@cjpark

I'm so sorry you are experiencing this. I can only suggest what we have done with our unhinged neighbour. We had a case of our neighbour harassing us verbally, recording us in our garden and our children, constant complaints to the council and shouting at any visitors to our property. After it was clear that she was not amenable to conservation, we wrote her a letter notifying her of the dates and actions of her aggressive behaviour and reminded her what she was doing amounted to harassment in the eyes of the law. We requested that she had no more interaction with us or our family. Obviously, the harassment escalated until my children started getting upset and spooked out by her filming them on the iPad. I called 111 and the police gave her a visit, found out that she had continued despite written requests from us and gave her some ASBO points. We now have a log number for her should she start again. That was a year ago and she hasn't bothered us since. Good luck!

I love a happy ending! Well done @cjpark for keeping your cool and protecting your children.

(I may be keeping this post for future reference)

@Honeyroar

How on earth would he have been able to break your dashcam in two? Isn’t it inside the car? And don’t leave the dog unattended.

Convertible car with the roof down in the sun?

Car left unlocked?

Many possibilities.

You have young children, several pets and a DH with a medical condition. Plus demanding jobs and covid19 to worry about. There is no space in your life for an ongoing nasty situation with this neighbour - life is way too short. Just get out at any cost, as soon as you can. Worth checking disclosures by the vendor - friends of mine were awarded a small fortune when they discovered the house they bought was next door to a very troublesome household and the vendor had not declared the various police dealings and complaints when they sold.

This man feels that he is master of all he surveys, then again why is he so very defensive what is he defending?
If you stand up to him he might back down or he might escalate 😳

Personally if it's rural with no cctv or few police if I were your husband I'd punch the cunts lights out.

If he used dogs to intimidate my kids he'd wake up in hospital each and every time until he got message.

Appreciate this isn't good advice

The previous tenants were known to have a problem with him, did your relatives let you know this before or after you moved in?
You know deep down this is no way to live. It’s not perfect for your animals because they risk being harmed by this man, your dog already has been (no dog gets an elastic band around his neck by accident).

Then maybe you, your husband or your kids would be next. You’re running yourself around in circles to sort it, when it can’t be sorted. He’s always going to be a crazy bastard, 6 foot wall or not.

Your family who owns the house needs to sort this and you need to move. You’re seriously going to put yourself, your family and your pets in harms way because you can’t let a family member down? They’re letting you down by letting you stay in this shitshow

You say your partner doesn’t like confrontation, but you both need to be very clear and firm with these people. They’re bullying you and enjoying it, it’s entertainment. I’m betting the farmer and the warden are pretty close.

It sounds like hell, I’d be so wound up in your position.

Someone has mentioned a 'binding over of the peace'

The criminal courts can bind someone over to keep the peace. I presume that is what they were referring to.

If you have right of way over a property for the purposes of caring for the land beyond, can you go there just to loiter and have a smoke?

Depends on the exact terms of the easement. However, this may be harassment.

Is there a legal process whereby a judge could order that the lane be used for the purposes of accessing the land beyond only and not for going back and forth over our land (as he is currently doing)?

Doubt you would succeed with this one. After all, if he goes over the right of way to the land beyond, immediately returns and repeats, he is accessing the land. But, even if you could specify more tightly, I doubt the courts would agree to impose any restrictions beyond those in the easement. I think harassment is the more promising route.

Is there any legal reason why we wouldn't be able to build an 8 ft stone wall bordering the land on our own land? There would be no dwelling near it except our own home (and the warden's cottage, which is link detached to our farmhouse).

You would be in breach of planning law if you did that. If the wall is more than 2m high (1m if next to a highway used by vehicles) you need planning permission. Even if you stick to the height restriction you may still need planning permission in some circumstances.

Minor side issue - is the farmer within his rights to drive a half wild stallion up? He clearly can't get a headcollar on it and just drives it in front of him, at a gallop, from his quadbike. Without a heads up. Did I mention we have young children.

I would think he is within his rights to do this unless the easement is restricted to pedestrian access. Equally, if animals are not prohibited, he could drive a herd of sheep or cows along the right of way using his quadbike.