Neighbour accused me of stealing their tree

[Ahelena79]

So our neighbour has a lovely willow tree. It does slightly overhang our border however I am very happy with that as it provides a lovely bit of shade in that corner of the garden which the kids sit under on hot evenings.

Around 4 summers ago I took several cuttings from this willow tree. I didn’t really think to ask at the time as they were nearly touching the floor of my garden and had no real impact on my neighbours life. Instead of chucking them back over the fence aggressively (which other neighbours have done to me!) I decided to plant them to grow a bit of a willow garden in one corner.

These willows have absolutely taken off. There’s about 6 in total all taken from branch cuttings. They are really tall now and can be seen from over the fence (which is 6 foot!)

My neighbour has recently seen them and is now demanding that his property is returned to him. He says I had no right to cut the willow and that they have always been his property even though I have nurtured them to life in the form of new trees. He says he will be contacting the police and threatening legal action. He told me that the willow is taken from cuttings of a family tree that was in his mothers garden and he considers it family property which he wanted to hand down to his kids but I’ve now stolen that from him?? He is absolutely crazy to be honest and I’ve had no previous dealings with him and I’m glad of that now!

Where do I stand legally on this?

@Ahelena79 I don't understand why he's concluded that they're HIS cuttings from four summers ago.

Did you tell/admit this to him?

Take a few cuttings from your trees and give them
to him. It would be the equivalent of what you took. Police will not be remotely interested and I wouldn’t have thought he had any legal standing.

Putting aside the whole “you should offer the cuttings back to your neighbour before disposing of them” (which people will repeat in that particular tone of voice that gets used to demonstrate to anyone within earshot that they KNOW THE LAW), who the hell actually does that in real life?

I feel pretty confident in asserting that the percentage of mumsnetters who have consistently knocked on their neighbours door to offer them their garden waste back (as opposed to just helpfully getting rid of it like any normal human being would) is less than 1%.

And for those that do offer it back every single time, I’d love to hear what their neighbours say about them after they politely decline and swiftly close/bolt the door.

yep when my car was broken into they took 5 days, came and looked to confirm it had been, spoke to two witnessess, then gave me a case number for insurance... they blatently said they arent going to do anything and its just an insurance issue.

They never even checked the CCTV even though the car park owner was chasing them up trying to give them it.

He's batshit.

He can't do anything.

Since you've got a lot, sell some cuttings and earn a bit off of them.

Just say you asked 4 years ago and were told to dump the cutting, so you planted them instead.
That it is not your fault he forgot he told you to keep them.
Stick to this story as it is a he says she says.

Exactly! What kind of fucking weirdo, trims a neighbour's overhanging tree, and then knocks the door and gives him the bits they chopped off? Do people actually DO this? Utterly batshit. My neighbour would think I had taken leave of my senses if I did that, and I would think the same of them!

Your first mistake was not thinking to ask before taking cuttings and rooting them from someone else's plant, it's irrelevant that they were on your side of the fence. You didn't simply trim them and bin the trimmings, you took cuttings, rooted them and planted them. If you intended to benefit from your neighbour' s tree, you should have asked.

Your second mistake was telling him you'd done that instead of "Ooh I can't remember, think DH brought them back one day because I'd said I liked yours?"

I would try to patch things up somehow as it's not nice living next to a hostile neighbour. He sounds rather intense, but if his mother's since died he might not be the strongest mentally he's ever been.

And also, per PPs' comments about the willow roots - six willow trees in your garden, are you mad?! Do you know what size they get? Our huge garden we had as kids had one weeping willow in it, it was beautiful and trained like a big bell tent. We loved that tree, but I wouldn't have one in my considerably smaller garden now!

@Butchyrestingface It's in OP's second post: I have already said to him how I got them as I never thought in a million years he would demand them back

I wouldn't offer him anything. Tell him you look forward to seeing his sad photo in a national newspaper highlighting what an idiot he's being.

Oh, and remind him that he will forevermore have to declare the 'dispute with the neighbour' if he ever tries to sell his house.

you say you took them, did you take them from a branch that fell into your garden during a storm? Windfalls.

Not true. If it overhangs her garden, those bits are hers.

Oh my god some of the posters here 🤣🤣🤣🤣 the dramatic tone.

OP hasn't stolen anything - it was over her boundary line.

It was his responsibility to keep the tree trimmed and is lucky she didn't cut the whole thing back on her side.

No she doesn't owe him them.
No she doesn't owe him money for them.
No she is not a thief.
No he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

I mean jesus, you'd hate to see what my Nan used to do in the garden nursery - taking home snapped shoots from the floor, to root up 🤣

Legally: you're allowed to cut any overhang on your garden without permission from the plant owner so your neighbour is off his rocker. But, I do believe it's right that you're supposed to offer the cut material back to him. Did you offer them back to him and he's just forgotten?

However.
If you don't tell him they were cut from his willow, he won't know. Now, I'm not suggesting you deny it now, but some might find it the most effective way of dealing with this.

Without proof, there is no case.

Quite frankly, I can't begin to imagine getting so irate over something that would have no impact whatsoever to my life.

No, they aren't. You need to offer the cuttings back.

I wouldn’t give him back the entire tree. I’d cut off the tops and give him the cuttings.

Then I’d tell him I bought new ones and planted them if he mentioned it again.

I think he’s ridiculous and the law is ridiculous.

You don’t them over, you offer them back

Oh goodness no - that will just encourage him in his self righteous crusade against the willow witch OP

He's nuts. He has no legal right to your trees, and your cuttings don't affect his ability to take more cuttings for his children. However, if someone is crazy enough to complain about this, I'd be worried he might be somewhat unhinged and potentially dangerous. I'd try to keep contact to him as minimal as possible.

Let him call the police. They won't care.

For fuck’s sake. The histrionics on here. Let him report it to the police. They won’t give a single shit.

You are crazy to plant so many willow trees in your garden, they are so destructive.

Let him call the police. He's talking utter bollox.

If a neighbouring tree is hanging over your property you are entitled to cut any overhang away. What you do with that overhang is entirely up to you.

He sounds like an absolute nutter!

Do you have DP/DH? If so I'd send them round and say that that you were mistaken and although you did chop the tree back the new trees were bought.

He'll say you're lying, which you are BUT the onus is then on him to prove it!

How anyone could get this worked up by an overhanging branch I do not know!

Also, tell him you enjoy nude sunbathing and don’t appreciate him spying on you in your own garden.