Caught neighbours using my garden

[Weird21]

I have a block of flats next to my house and I thought for a while things have been moved in my garden and it seemed a bit weird. I’ve got a lock on the gate and it’s always locked. So over the weekend I’ve installed a small out door camera under my guttering which records the whole back garden.

So I’ve come home tonight after work (I work the late shift) and found two cigarette butts on the path by my seating area. So I checked the camera and the neighbors have climbed my wall and been sitting in my garden from 2pm until 8pm using my seating and table. To say I’m annoyed is an understatement but how to I confront them as they aren’t the friendliest of people at the best of times. So I guess they’ve been doing this since the nice weather began.

Unfortunately it’s not difficult to see i’m out as I have to drive to work and so once my cars not there they obviously know I’m out.

I just don’t know how to approach this as I’m a single woman and just concerned it’ll escalate but I can’t allow this what would you all do? I thought maybe a note through their door asking them to not use it anymore. They haven’t seen the camera but now I wonder how long it’s been going on.

Apart from the cheek they’ve surely, until recently, been breaking covid rules by using your garden.

I'd have a couple of friends come over early on the Friday. Preferably huge blokes. You go to work as normal and have them wait in the house until the cheeky fuckers are happily having a fag and chat, then I'd have them fling open your back door and storm out there demanding to know who the fuck they are and what they think they're playing at. Preferably filming them.

@PerciphonePuma You've won the MN olympics Gold medal for jumping to conclusions! (Read the OP's post)

Spikes, anti climb paint and pop a sign on the wall saying private property trespassers will be prosecuted. If the camera can notify you of movements like ours does set it then report to police that their is someone in your property without permission.

the dad start with threats if you say anything

I have one like this. I installed a new fence and two adults brought a chair and used it to hoist themselves onto my fence and supported themselves using my drain pipe and guttering on a ground floor roof to come over into my garden. When I told them to stop I got a load of abuse and threats. There's no chance of a conversation or being reasonable with people like this as the more you try to speak with them the more aggressive they become.
I put spikes on my fence and was going to also put the anti climb paint but the police told me that I would be liable if they were injured (never mind they were illegally climbing into my garden and a large potential for them to cause damage to my fence, gutters, drain pipe and shrubs they were landing in on my side!!) The police weren't interested when I reported what they were doing as apparently trespass is a civil offence and I don't think people like this are afraid of the police because they just lie and make up some story about them being the victim ('I don't have a garden', 'I needed to retrieve my ball' that they threw at my windows to try to break them , 'I thought she had called me over to help her. I was only trying to help.').
I installed CCTV and they would just wave at the cameras and then reported me to the police for filming them without their permission. I actually got a call from the police telling me to take my cameras down because they felt 'intimidated' being filmed, even though my cameras only show my garden and anyone who has trespassed within my garden. I said no I wasn't taking the cameras down as they were legal and filming what was happening. Make sure you have a visible sign that says you have CCTV recording and another sign that says 'Private Property' so it's very clear that the side of your house and your fence and your garden are private (this is so when and if the police arrive it's very clear the people are trespassing and not 'just confused about who the property belongs to'). The police tried to give me some shite about 'we'll they're not really doing any harm and you're not using it at the moment'. No! It's your private garden, you've paid for it and they do not have permission to use it. Where would it end if people are allowed to use our property just because we're not using it at the moment
I would phone the police to report what they are doing but you can't say it's a neighbour and you need to use words like 'Someone has broken into my garden. There are 2 of them and I'm worried they will get into my house.' The police might turn up and might confront them. I don't think it will stop the neighbour from doing it though and you will then become their target. You need to report them to the Housing Association every single time there is a problem and all the other neighbours need to do that as well. At least if you report them to the police you can quote a crime reference number. Make it difficult for them to get into your garden by using trellis and spiky plants but be prepared for these things to be damaged so don't spend too much money on them. Make your table and chairs difficult to use. Don't leave anything out that they can steal. Point a camera at your house as well so you can record them doing any damage like breaking windows or damaging doors. The police haven't taken these things seriously ('it's just a shed') but it does help to build your case when you need to escalate it. Make sure you lock all your windows and doors and garage and sheds. Good luck OP you're going to have a long battle on your hands. Mine's been going on since the day I bought my house 4 years ago. Involve the other neighbours so you can all stick together and keep an eye out for each other. That will be really supportive for you all over time but be aware that the nightmare family will say you are all 'ganging up on them'.

I used to work with a lady that had a nightmare neighbour and she bought a German Shepard to help her feel safe in her home. The nightmare neighbour got into her garden when the dog was outside and they somehow cut it's tail off. There was blood everywhere, the dog was traumatised, it was horrible. For the people saying 'buy a guard dog' I'm not sure that's always a good solution. If people want in the garden they will get into the garden despite obstacles. I think the best thing is to keep reporting to the HA as they are the only people who can move this family along...where they will sadly become a problem for someone else.

I've heard that the theme tune to Barney the purple dinosaur on an endless loop is used as a torture device in some places, maybe it is time to install speakers just inside your window and turn on your CD player whenever you leave the house? (Ideally loud enough to be annoying on your patio but not harm your neighbours in their houses).

@DrCoconut

Should say pig not pug. Got to love autocorrect

It made me laugh though, I liked the thought of your great-grandpa stalking pugs in the park and picking up pug poo before the owners got a chance.

yellowsubmarines that is truly horrific, i hope they called the police on them

@yellowsubmarines

That is truly awful. I can't even imagine coming home from work and finding one of my dogs with his tail hacked off. What goes through people's minds?

Every so often, I'm newly amazed at how vile some people can be. Thankfully, there seem to be very few of them, but what they like in quantity they make up for in quality (definitely negative quality). There's a place in hell reserved for people like that.

Report to the police, what if you had gone out but then returned one day and were faced with them?

The cheek of some people is beyond comprehension!

@Nairobiblue

Paul's Himalayan Musk is a vigorous rambling rose that looks lovely, smells lovely and has very sharp thorns - easy to get your gardener to train it all over the top and sides of your wall. Another one with horrid thorns is Handel, beautiful rose with gorgeous scent that flowers all summer but huge sharp thorns. I have both in my garden and the scars to go with them. Some Cotinus (smoke bush) shrubs have thorns too.

Albertine is another very thorny rose, that would cover your fence in no time, and smells delicious.

I like the idea of using plants that will delight your neighbours to deter the CFs, OP.

If you need to update your police report OP, tell them you feel vulnerable as a woman living alone next door to these aggressive neighbours who are now trespassing on your property. I live alone and have scumbag neighbours and understand how scary it can feel when you're home alone.

If your other neighbours have had threats or aggressive behaviour would they be willing to do their own complaints to the HA?

Rent your garden to them when you're not using it

Bloody cheek of them but couldnt your neighbours at least have let you know even anonymously

watching it happen for 5 weeks is ridiculous

I don’t know who is more of a CF: the neighbours or the Mirror journalist!

My neighbours have a safety camera which says ‘Warning: you are now being recorded’ if you cross its path, which I quite often do when I’m putting the bins out because it slightly goes over my path too. Something like that might put them off, especially if you report to the police every time it’s triggered.

Alternatively, superglue on your chairs?

Yes, this has been nicked by the mirror.

Idiots

Spiky stuff on the wall so they can’t climb it, cctv warning sign up and visible camera. The cheeky bastards. It’s absolutely outrageous to do this without asking you.

The Mirror newspaper are a bunch of cunts waves

Mirror Wankers

🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕

The Mirror article says that the op ‘flocked’ to MN. Can a single person ‘flock’?

Ffs. That's actually really irresponsible journalism because the CFs can recognise themselves and now make the OPs life hell.
Fuck.

Do you know which flat they live in? If so I'd consider putting a note through their door.
If they do it again, do as others have suggested and put a sign up. Something like Smile, you're on camera should work.