Terrible neighbours

[Lindsaycreate]

I’m hoping for some advice. I moved into my terraced home six years ago and unfortunately on one side have unpleasant neighbours. They are a couple in their early 70’s, she literally never leaves the house/garden and they have CCTV all round the house. We are constantly watched. They have no friends. All other neighbours are lovely and have had the same problems with this particular couple for many years so the small comfort is that it isn’t just me they have a problem with.

However, I am the one directly beside them. They put a fence up in my garden (there is a dividing wall and they put it up on my side of it) and I had to go through solicitors to get it taken down. They then built the dividing wall to two metres and said I couldn’t plant any plants in my flower bed beside it - apparently plants would discolour it. My flowerbed is full of flowers in summer - really beautiful and I cut them all back in the winter. They know this. I’ve just gone out the morning and they have poisoned all my plants within half a metre of the wall. I’m so upset. I don’t know whether to ignore it or say something to them about it.

They are very malicious - they call the police if you engage with them at all. I’ve learnt to record every interaction on my phone so I can replay for the police as the couple lie about everything. The couple seem to thrive on arguing and fighting. I don’t. I haven’t engaged with them since last July when the fence was removed.

There is no way to discuss anything with them, they cannot see anyone else’s point of view. The neighbours who have lived here longer say this has gone on for 30 plus years. Solicitors have been involved with every neighbours interaction with this couple.

I have a primary age son who is scared of them. I can’t move. I love where I live and every other neighbour is fabulous.
I would love some advice about how to get through this. I do not want to put CCTV up.

Have a little read on the internet about boundary disputes. They are horrible, I have been embroiled in one myself. It is extremely complex over something seemingly straightforward .

Trespass is a civil matter, not criminal. It costs thousands to fight it and if the person trespassing says they dispute the boundary then you are looking at 10's of thousands. Just to defend your own land.

@NYE2023 , some people are always on the make. My ILs had a neighbour who did just that, they were too soft to challenge him so he managed to widen his garden by a a couple of feet, and the garden was really long. Pathetic , but he just wanted one over on them.

Sorry but you have to put cctv up its the only way to prove what's going on.

NYE - I agree. I have just read the thread with astonishment at the aggressive posters having a go at the OP for no apparent reason, other than they seem to enjoy it. Ignore them OP - let them stew in their own bile.

Thank you. The man who lived in my house died but his son was extremely helpful with historic evidence during the fence removal. Yes, they had similar malicious incidents for many years.

Alas, technically the rules. As you could damage it. And the police are not the most helpful with these things.

OP - the plant poisoning is criminal damage. Hard to prove without your own footage (so second other saying get your own CCTV). But report it to police. Add it to a dossier of continuing harrasment of you by these neighbours.

Why are some people giving the OP such a hard time? My parents came back from a few days away and found the neighbours had been in their garden and put a fence up. These things do happen. And she’s stated that they told her when she first moved in that they have no friends - it doesn’t mean she’s spying on them all the time!

It's so hard to catch someone spraying weedkiller from their property into your property though ☹️

CCTV seems to be the way to go.
We have a horrible neighbour. She is desperately trying to cause a scene/incident with us because she wants to be able to run to her son and get him involved (he won’t, he’s super nice to me when I see him). She wants an excuse to move closer to him which he doesn’t want.
We don’t engage and we don’t speak to her all, I don’t even look at her now. Drives her crazy!

I’m sorry you’re going through this OP.

I don’t have any legal advice but I will say just try not to stoop to their level as they enjoy being dicks and retaliating will make them worse.

I would definitely put CCTV up and tell them that if they come into your garden again then you’ll ring the police (even if it’s not illegal).

If they do anything in your garden like build a fence then take it down straight away.
If they take it to court or ring the police then so be it.

I assume you’re a single parent and they’re just trying to bully you.
Do not allow it.

Joke with your son about the crazy neighbours and get him a trampoline too.

Just remember that they are in their 70s and won’t be around forever.
Hopefully as they age they will become less petty as they physically won’t be able to build fences etc.

@Lindsaycreate I can't add anything to what's already been said but I really do feel sorry for you and I really feel bad for you ... It's horrible when you have got absolutely vile neighbours ... I'm actually fortunate enough to have the most amazing neighbours in the village I live in now (all around me...) Have been here 10 years.

But one property we lived in some 20 years ago (and had lived in happily for 6-7 years with our 2 young kids,) had new neighbours move next door. The previous ones were a couple in their 20s and they were lovely. The NEW neighbours were late 40s, and for some reason thought it was OK to have loud parties in the back garden (and in their house,) once a week, from 6pm til 3am, with over 30 people present.

They also played loud thumping garage music boom boom boom bang bang bang from 7pm til 11:00-11.30pm - 2 or 3 times a week!!! Most of the time they weren't even IN, they were at the pub, or at one of their family member's homes!

They would go out at 7:00 PM to a pub/wine bar/club, or someone's house, and leave the music playing really loudly. No idea why. 5 or 6 hours they'd be out sometimes, with the music booming through the walls.

Our children couldn't sleep and kept crying because of the horrible noise. They even played the music SO loud in the afternoon when they were home that we couldn't hear the TV. I confronted them about it, and she said we'll play our music as loud as we like, it's our fucking home.' She slammed the door and turned the volume up higher. They were vile. They drove us out. Put the house on the market 4-5 months after they moved in, after 7 happy years there. We were devastated.

Didn't ever complain to the council or anything, we just went. A couple in their 70s bought our house. SHE was very feisty and assertive and quite gobby. I hope she gave this couple HELL for their noise. I do suspect that they clashed - as the nuisance neighbour's house went on the market about 6-8 months after we left.

This was my friend's words and not mine ... my friend said... 'these horrible neighbours came from a big sink estate onto a lovely little cul de sac where all the homes were privately owned, after making £70K on their right to buy council house, but they carried on behaving like they lived on the big sink estate ...' Nuff said.

All the best @Lindsaycreate Not much help sorry. All I can suggest is move. Sadly, some people will be on the side of your neighbours because they're elderly, and some people think that people over 70 can never put a foot wrong.

I wonder if poisoning your plants is considered criminal damage. I would expect it to be, therefore, calling the police could be one idea.
on the plus side, if they are in their 70’s, I doubt they will be too mobile within the next decade. You can look forward to watching them struggle as they become frail.

I agree - it's really weird how a couple of posters seem to think they are some KC cross-examining the OP, and as for compassion for twats who put up an illegal fence?

I had neighbours like this, they ruined my life and made me suicidal. Both in their 70s too. I ended up moving from the house I loved and regretted it deeply, even to this day. Police wouldn’t help me, I had evidence and no one cared. My advice would be to fight it every way you can and don’t let them bully you any longer. I regret not doing more. Get cctv on your property so you have evidence they killed your plants (criminal damage) and report anything else that affects your right to a reasonable way of life. I don’t recommend retaliating as no one will take your seriously. Another thing that will not be popular on here, but take comfort in the fact they won’t live forever. Feel free to pm me any time.

I would report the weed killing incident. It must be very obvious considering the plants in front of them are still fine and given what they said about keeping the base of the wall clear of plants. ( What nonsense by the way especially as it sounds like the walk was already there an they only added to the top of it. Surely any discolouration would have already happened if it was going to).

Not a pile of shit- have heard of other cases like this.

Why is everyone having a go at OP ?
They're not it's just one particularly aggressive poster.
Who needs to PUT THE KEYBOARD DOWN NOW (and also maybe the wine) because they've obliterated this thread.

I read it that the pp was trying to give @Fillyourshoes the social cue to STFU and stop obliterating this thread with inane troll hunting. 🤷‍♀️

Could you get some CCTV and then 'plant' some really realistic fake plants? It would amuse me no end to see them try to kill them!

I have had bad neighbours before and moved to get away from them. I guess that's why I was reading too much into the OP - no trolling intended.

Surely you can build a case for harassment?

😂 like it!

@Lindsaycreate You have my absolute sympathy. We too have unneighbourly neighbours. They too have audio enabled cameras all around and one in particular was actually placed overlooking our private courtyard. We’ve also had plants/trees mysteriously destroyed which are nearest to our shared boundary. We have a right of access over their land which they used to deliberately lock (we feel they must have been legally advised to not carry on doing this as in recent times it’s stopped) I know how challenging it can be. We absolutely carry on being civil but do not engage in any meaningful way. They are the most vindictive malicious unpleasant neighbours we’ve had in 40 years. I’m sorry I don’t have any advice to offer.

This is also the case with my neighbours - you could be describing our access issues almost perfectly. The poor couriers are turned away and they tried it with the postman but he told them he had the right to walk wherever he wanted (we all silently cheered).