Neighbours from hell.

[Taurini]

Long post sorry.
So I've been living here a few years now.. I chose this property due to health reasons and it being close to my childrens school.
After being here a a while I noticed fag ends all over the front garden and back garden (gate always locked) near our fence in-between mine and my neighbours property, I thought the people who lived here must have smoked so I cleaned them all up.. a month or so later loads more appeared in the same places.. and a dog poo bag right outside my door.. It was full blown lockdown.. we had no visitors since we moved in and none of our household smoke, my partner hates smoking and our kids were still I'm primary school so it wasn't them.
But my neighbours and their kids smoke and have dogs.
I vented to someone on the street about my frustrations like a fool.. and they told my neighbours.. my neighbours came banging on my door telling me they've heard I've been slagging them off and that if I have a problem I should say it to their fcking face.. they ain't fcking tramps and that if I know what is good for me I will shut my f*cking mouth...
They breed dogs and leave weeks worth of poop in their back garden then hose it away.. they don't train them, leave them inside the house whilst they work and just boot them outside when they're home.. they breed them and breed them for money then eventually sell the dog they bred from and get another.
I've had people do work on my house come up to me and tell me they can hear the neighbours hitting and yelling at the dogs.. as a dog person it breaks my heart.
My dog is a big chicken and when their dogs bark he starts barking in response and won't do his business.. I cant leave him out to play because if their dogs aren't out and the kids are and they hear him they start making barking noises at him to set him off..
I have a baby and have a set amount of time I can take him out supervised and they still do whatever they can to set him off..
They have off road bikes that they drive around the streets and parks with that are ridiculously loud and shoot down the path outside there house which is next to my front door (my fence decides their path from ours)
This wakes my baby and sometimes sets my dog off barking because it's so loud.
They know this.. and have now started just sitting on their bikes next to their front door (across from my front door) just revving the engines...
They also use our fence to pull themselves up onto their bins to jump up and down on their bins to crush down the rubbish, which smashes my fence back and forth which bangs and sets my dog off barking.. its also breaking my fence..
If the sun is shining they all sit outside drinking and smoking together swearing and shouting, even the kids in secondary school are sat drinking cans of beer and smoking with them. Their youngest sits drinking vkd with them.
They talk about all the drugs they take and crimes they commit with eachother.. its shocking if I'm honest.
Theyre so loud that when it's hot I have to shut the windows in my childrens bedroom or they can't sleep..
You'd think I would get a break when they're at work and school but one of their lads from secondary school skips school most days with his friends and sit out revving their bikes and barking at my dog to set him off and waking my baby.
I put cctv all over my property to hopefully discourage them but it hasn't.
I've told my partner I want to rehome our dog.. I'm devastated to say it but I cant cope..him and the children aren't happy with me.. but I don't know what else to do, we can't move as we have to be close to school due to my health.
I'm not sure who I could report my neighbours to, i think things would escalate if i did.
The lad who skips school and revs the bike outside my door has been in trouble with the police for armed robbery and criminal damage but they can't do anything because he's too young.
I honestly don't know what to do anymore.. even if I rehome my dog the revving of the bikes alone wakes up my baby..
Has anyone else been through anything similar who can give advice?
I'm getting close to having a break down here..
I feel like they can just break the law, treat my property however they wish and treat us like crap and we have no rights whatsoever 😩

Sounds horrific. Makes wind chimes not seem so bad 😳

Report them to the council and RSPCA

The boy who revs the bike outside my house when he should be in school who does armed robbery and criminal damage must be under 16, so far they take him to the station with a parent and then 1 hour later he's back.. so the police don't seem to prosecute him, and they have no affect on him because he still keeps commiting these crimes. His parents don't care and don't punish him, all their kids are allowed to do as they please.
I'm thinking of talking to the police in person and asking them where I stand and calling the council.
I know it might make things worse, but I'm a fighter, if we all always give up then the good people will always loose.
It's not fair bad people treating people so awfully, committing crimes and getting away with it.
Thank you everyone for your advice.

Op it's sounds really horrible, and I do understand why you don't want to move, but seriously this doesn't get better for you. Your reports antagonise them, it's not right but there it is. You can either put up with it, try and fight or get the hell out. Personally I'd get the hell out, trying to fight will take a very long time and nothing substantial will happen to them, whilst also living in continued misery for you.

I know you dont want to move but I think you need to. My ex neighbors were not as bad as yours but it still did a number on my health and I still havent fully recovered.

You can report them but from my experience only decent people respond to this. Your neighbors do not care. Also even with reporting very little got done.

OP I really feel for you. We were in the same situation. We loved our house so much but there was a couple of families on our road who would exactly like the people you describe. The thing is though - they were not exactly horrible people (or started out that way), just people with very different values which COVID and lockdown seemed to make things worse. Drink and drugs mainly which then lead to some pretty horrific inferences and behaviours.

What I did notice which was how it affected our mental well-being. Every night, especially on a warm summer evening we would be always waiting for the other shoe to drop. We could never relax. The Police seemed to give up. A half hearted raid here never solved anything - so everyone put cameras up. Everyone became paranoid. Everyone thought someone was out to get them. Other neighbors stopped taking pride in their area as much. Others got fed up and sold up. Meanwhile burglaries, vandalism and theft went through the roof - not directly the fault of those families but couldn't help thinking that people buying drugs at all hours lead to the opportunist crimes.

The point I'm making is that the dynamics of the road changed becuase of the negative influence of a few families and their lack of respect for authority and others. The Police and councils couldn't solve anything - they didn't even really try. People as you describe know this which is why they don't give a damn.

Your home should be your sanctuary and if it doesn't feel like that please move before something happens making it impossible to sell. It's a good time to sell, people are rushing to buy so they are missing a lot of the warning signs. When the market changes people will be back to taking their time to get to know your road and it's going ona. We had our hearts in our mouths every viewing waiting for one idiot to blow the sale! On the morning of the day we were about to exchange the top news story on my phone - there has been a murder - oh and there's a photo of my road! It was a day after our buyers had done the pre-exchange visit otherwise they would have run for the hills seeing the police foresnics all over that house.

While it's noble to stay and try and flight it - sometimes you just need to know when it's time put yourself and family first. I'm gutted we had to move from a house we loved but the mental peace is worth it.

OP don’t stay to fight. You’ll just make your life miserable and your house unsellable.

Unfortunately there’s a class of people who don’t give a fuck about themselves or their kids. They didn’t care about education and if their kids show an interest they try to pull them back down like crabs in a barrel.

They have no ambition and don’t work or if they do they do the bare minimum but resent those who do give a shit and are doing better. They will call themselves left behind and will have all kinds of excuses as to why they behave this way but the reality is they are leeches and you’re not equipped to fix them. You can grow up poor and still have ambition, know how to behave and not drag others down. Their kids will grow up to be the same or worse.

You reporting them or trying to befriend them will make no difference. They will just try and drag you down with them.

Move.

I wish I could talk to the people who previously owned the property, they moved out a couple of years after my neighbours moved in.. would be nice to know if they had the same problem.
Since then it was rented out a lot until I purchased it.
I'd be willing to move if there was a place for sale locally but there isn't atm, I need to be close to my family due to my health problem incase I have a bad day and need extra support.
I will keep looking, for now I just have to put up with it..

☝️☝️☝️☝️THIS!
Sorry you're going through this OP. Nuisance neighbours are the worst.

We rented next door to a family similar to this during lockdown. Police were useless, they took 2 days to come out when next door incited various kids to throw stones at our house and kick the door after my DH stood up to them. Police just accepted next door's lies. NDN were constantly in their front garden and we ended up packing a van in desperation and leaving in the middle of the night rather than having them shout abuse while we were loading. If you do sell remember however the value of your house might be affected. Anyone coming to view will likely see and hear them.

You can't change them. They will never change. The only thing you can control is your own situation. Move. Life is way too short.

If they're renting I think you have more chance of something being done. I live in housing association due to unforseen circumstances and neighbours I see seem to think it's normal to have dog poo everywhere, never walk their dogs and generally just act scummy. It's a huge generalisation but that's what these neighbours sound like.
If it's owned.and yours is owned I feel this could be so difficult to really see any action no matter what you do. I used to work in an anti social behaviour team and even those in council housing had warning after warning. ASBOs only of any use if they're prosecuted for breach and you have means to use their tenancy security against them. Even then I recall tenants just getting warning after warning. I feel the fall out will be worse for you if you pursue it and the Police seem to know that hence their advice. But, I feel your pain so much. There are so many scumbag people out there whose brain functions at a sub optimal level it seems.
Moving is no easy feat but if they own they won't be going anywhere anytime soon and this could be the impetus to make you do something you wouldn't otherwise do. In a new place with normal decent neighbours there's a great chance you will feel huge relief and no regrets. The other possibility in the interim is to try the nice tactic. Be as pleasant as you can and they may just get bored of some of the behaviour. Not easy though, I understand. I would not have a single conversation with any neighbour at all about anything in your life. Just say nothing. Something will happen to change this situation for you at some point for the better.

Moving is not that simple. If you own the house no one will buy it with neighbours like that. If you rent, you will not find anyone who will change with you, If you rent you can at least leave when the contract is up. If you own the house you have to take a drop in value. I am so sorry for the writer of this post. None of us know who we get to live next door to, and houses next door can change hands and someone awful buys it. My neighbour has been trying to force us to move for years. They have put stones down my xpelair chimney on the roof. The police have climbed up and removed stuff from the top of my gas boiler flue, yet still did nothing as I ''could not prove it was them covering up my gas boiler flue'' 2 years ago I discovered that when he refused to turn my gas off when we had a leak he was a fireman. When he kept covering over my gas boiler flue he was installing gas central heating boilers with a partner. I was told when they move somewhere, they try to get the next door houses for friends and relatives. I am trying to sell my house without success. They have removed the boundary fence, planted trees against my disability living extension and climb on the flat roof to prune them. They have moved their summerhouse onto my garden after removing the fence. They have damaged my property, cut my rose tree down - and have friends in high places. Last time I tried to sell my house the offer was £100K less than the asking price. People will kill for a lot less.

OP - these people sounds like scum. You have no idea how vindictive they could get and trying to go on a secret campaign against them could make things worse...a lot worse.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-61745617

Sounds like they’re trying to get rid of you because the cameras upset their business dealings if your partner is so keen to stay you need to send him round there to talk to them. You can’t live like that.

Gosh I am so sorry. It sounds horrendous. I really feel for you (and for your poor dog being wound up the stage of potentially needing rehoming).

When I was a kid we had an awful neighbour. I have to be honest he was just unpleasant- he wasn’t anything as terrible as you describe. But he made us all pretty miserable. My mum in particular.

My family moved house in the end (after nearly 20 years in the same place). And my mum is sooo much happier. A bad neighbours can be really difficult.

i don’t know if it is at all possible but I would really be looking into my moving options.

you should report too. But obv safety needs to come first so maybe tell them you worried about being named or do it when you move. (The dogs need to be reported though asap) x

Anyone remember the TV show "the equaliser"? I'm imagining a very British version of that but with dodgy neighbours getting their comeuppance. It'd make great tele!

Armed robbery but the police can't do anything? Really? Rubbish, that one sentence devalues your story. In addition, you have a noisy dog.

You need to move. Reporting things may well endanger your family. Your mental health is already suffering. This will negatively impact your children. You cannot win. It sounds horrendous and it really isn't fair, but you really need to move.

I'd move as well OP. It's not fair but I'm not sure any amount of reporting will change the behaviour of these vile arseholes. Keep your doggo and get your house on the market.

You cannot get ferals like this to change their ways, the only thing you can do is make their life more difficult by reporting them to their landlord/DVLA etc, but more difficult if they own the place, my advice would be go quiet on them and look to move. You shouldn’t have to but this is clearly making you unwell anyway.
all those posters that moan about police not doing anything- they have to be evidence based so it is a long drawn out process that will involve you cooperating and the fact they own the place makes it even more difficult to stop this behaviour as they can’t be evicted.

I do feel for you.

Since moving isn't an immediate solution even if you wanted to do that..

First of all I'd get your dog ignoring the noises and that is pretty easy in fact and can be achieved in a matter of days/a week or so.

Get a treat pouch, load it up with tiny tasty treats and ensure you are with your dog all the time for the next few days, ideally a week - every single time you hear a noise, chuck your dog a treat, or even a handful.

You want to build a solid association that these sounds, the bike revving, the idiots barking, doors slamming, whatever, it ALL means 'woo, sausage from the skies'.

By doing this you change your dogs emotional response to sounds from 'startle, argh!' to 'ooh nice!' and any barking in response should fade away to nothing very quickly.

After your intense week of this, you should be able to scale back a bit and reward just 'most' of the noises and then scale back again to just 'some' of the noises and from then on, just intermittently reward, and extra goodies for any particularly loud noises.

I sorted out all four of my dogs who were being routinely startled and wound up by idiots on trail bikes riding up and down the footpath behind my house - we went from dogs slamming into the fence yelling angrily to dogs coming to find me to tell me they'd heard a bike 'wheres my treat please Mum' in the course of a fortnight, and the angry barking and fence slamming actually stopped in around 3 days! With one dog you should find this is resolved much faster.

If you do still want to report your neighbours, I find that the local authority and the tax man are more interested in dog breeding than the RSPCA. However you may be better off just ignoring them, they will have more occupations in life to be getting on with than baiting you and will likely move on to bugging someone else if they get no rise out of you.

I’m a housing officer and what you described is extremely antisocial behaviour. You need to report it to your local council who should have an anti social behaviour investigation team. Usually staffed by ex police. Social work should be informed as a child protection issue. Noise apps are available which can then be submitted to local environmental health officers who will independently decide if the noise is excessive.

Don’t confront them and call the police if they approach your door aggressively again

Hope this helps

Have to be careful here - if you decide to sell one of the questions buyers solicitor is likely to ask "do you have problems with neighbours". I had a neighbour I did not speak to but I was always careful not to get into a wrangle with them so when I sold I could happily say I had no issues. But he was not directly next door and was completely obnoxious to others as well as me - just over parking mainly thought he bought the road when he purchased his house so different to what you are going through.