To go and complain to my neighbours

[Professionallytorn]

Put my washing out at 9am, neighbour bscking onto me who i have not met has just started a bonfire, I am fuming - excuse the pun, should I go round and complain? WWYD ?

No. They are totally selfish of course. I've found through recent experience unfortunately that complaining to a neighbour about their thoughtlessness just seems to make them act entitled, that they not supposedly in the wrong and continue with a vengeance.

I don't get why people are too lazy to take their rubbish to the tip or ask someone to help them to do that if they haven't got their own transport. I'd just leave it as they've obviously totally oblivious/ignorant and you complaining won't make a difference and just cause angst between you and your neighbours. But I feel for you as I hate bonfires especially in this weather when people like to sit in the garden or have their windows open, hang washing out or try to avoid these things due to having breathing conditions.

Check on your council website

Ours says anytime bonfires are ok as long as not a nuisance

But some councils say only after 6pm

But as they've started bonfire not much you can do now

Depends, are there rules where you live about timings of bonfires? If not then you can’t really tell them not to. It is annoying though.

In lreland bonfires at home are banned. For the environment. Surely a bonfire after the terrible heat is very risky. But if they are rude enough to blow smoke all over their neighbours l wouldn't like to be politely asking them to leave it.

Oh god I feel for you. We have a neighbour who is an absolute bonfire menace.

Generally though people who do twattish things are twats and all complaining does is get them riled up and make you feel even worse.

In lreland bonfires at home are banned.

I was shocked when I read on here that lighting a bonfire in the garden was legal in the UK for rubbish.

I thought that it was banned in Ireland due to the risk of the fire spreading. 🔥

It really is very risky when irresponsible people have the right to do it too. 😬

Unless you have had rain where you are (and lots of it) they sound dim - the ground must be tinder dry after the heat earlier in the week.

I'd call the firebrigade if I were you. My idiot neighbours had 1 the other night and managed to burn both theirs and another neighbours fence and sheds down, a spark caught in the grass and wosh bye bye quite honestly half the gardens. It was terrifying how quickly it went up and would have been much worse had the (innocent) neighbour not already had the sprinklers in their garden on for over an hour

This. Absolutely report it! No way should they be doing that.

We share a gardener / handyman with our neighbour and he's taken to lightning bonfires in the neighbour's garden which I find irritating and smelly but have to accept there's nothing I can do about it.

I did ask him politely one day if he was planning a bonfire as I was going to put a laundry load on and hang it out but I wouldn't do it if he was - he said no bonfire, I put the laundry out and you can guess what happened next.

I was absolutely fuming but I still didn't go round and say anything, I just thought 'what a fucking arse' and swore to myself as I pulled my washing off the line.

My neighbour (rural) so across a field from us, burn loads of rubbish in an old empty swimming pool. It stinks, but at least it's reasonably safe and contained, pisses me off though as they often do it on the first nice day of weather, although at least they are upwind of us in the prevailing wind direction.

Avoid complaining at all costs until you really have to as often it does not go down well.

Any sensible person would have noted that washing was out - Therefore I can imagine their reaction - avoid.

Use a cloth drier makes the gardens look much better and clothing softer, we do

Depends what you are expecting them to do about it? Are you wanting to to go around and complain about your washing and that's it.or are you going to politely request they put it out whilst your washing is out.

If you just want to have a go, my guess is they will most likely have choice words and retaliate further as people who do this tend to be thoughtless for others and usually don't care and any time they receive complaints or reports they will suspect it's you.

Thanks all, I have not been round. Checked council website, no time restrictions, says only an issue if causing a nuisance. I will sit fuming silently haha ! Prefer washing to dry outdoors whenever possible, hopefully leaving it out for past bonfire ending will get any smokey smell out.

Have you heard about global warming, electricity prices sky rocketing, anything which suggests using a clothes dryer on a lively summers day might just be as unreasonable as you can get?

it's A garden, not Kew Gardens

FFS

Yeah, it'll be fine if you just leave it out. I'd only report it if it was acrid - burning plastic/rubber etc. or maybe if it wasn't being supervised/too near a fence/in a garden that's a tinder box. If you're genuinely worried about the safety call the fire brigade. Otherwise just make a voodoo doll!!!

In my experience, I’ve complained to two neighbours in my terrace about their respective bonfires when I’ve had washing out, but made it constructive by offering to help them take stuff to the local tip.

I think I must be lucky with my neighbours because they’ve never lit one since.

There’s ways and means of complaining but I accept some selfish neighbours can be right knobs/challenging/entitled so it’s a difficult decision.

Maybe a note thru the door when all is burnt and done, in case they make a regular habit of it? Given tinder dry conditions at present, a bonfire right now would make me very nervous.

Checked council website, no time restrictions, says only an issue if causing a nuisance.

@Professionallytorn that's not very helpful of the council is it 😕"Causing a nuisance" is so subjective and one could argue that bonfires in built-up areas are always going to cause a nuisance of some sort, whether that's from smoke going on laundry on lines or from neighbours having to shut widows in hot weather to stop smoke coming indoors. I'd like to see bonfires banned completely TBH.

The landlord of a house next to my old place lit a bonfire in the yard really close to a wooden fence that connected to all the other yards/terraced houses. I phoned the fire station to ask if there was a minimum distance bonfires had to be from fences/structures. When I described the location in the very small yard they treated it as an emergency and sent a fire engine which swiftly extinguished the fire! I don’t think the landlord realised I was the one responsible 😬

I find barbecues are troublesome for washing too. I try to avoid washing on weekends because of this.

Bonfires, sex ponds (hot tubs), outdoor bars, trampolines, wind chimes, paddling pools, parties, loud music, squealing kids.

A delightful Summer in Suburbia. Add more if you like....

BBQs are worse. If my washing is involved I’ll have woodsmoke over grilled fat and meat any day. Yet people don’t bitch about them the same way.

We had some new neighbours who cleared their garden and started a bonfire just outside their back gate in the field. My other neighbour went round and said “did you know there’s a fire outside your fence, are you calling the fire service?”
They never did it again - shamed by the “this is a nice estate tone” of my neighbour 😂

Just put your washing out later. 9am is ok to have one would you coming of he was having a BBQ? Or do they complain if you do?

Life is too short for fall outs