Neighbours broke our plant pots

[GrumpyL]

AIBU? Our house has a large driveway and front garden which is “open plan” and is adjacent to our neighbour’s driveway. We’ve block paved the whole area so no longer have a garden/grass area. We’ve noticed that nearly every visitor to our neighbours house walk across our drive to get to our neighbours front door (our front doors are on the side of our house so it’s a direct line from the road where their visitors park). My DH is parked on the area that is adjacent to their drive and we’ve seen a visitor hit my DH’s car (a £70k Mercedes) with her coat. We’ve also seen a visitor ride her bike across our drive, again very close to DH car. So we decided to put some plant troughs along the front of our drive adjacent to the pavement and the put 2 along the edge of our driveway (approx 20cm from the boundary line) to stop our driveway being used as a walk way. This seemed to have solved the issue. Then a couple of months ago we noticed one of the troughs has a small dent. It looked like it had been hit by our neighbour but we didn’t mention it. Then a few weeks ago we went away for a few days and when we got home one of the troughs had been completely destroyed. It was smashed to pieces and the stones/plants were on our driveway. The neighbours said they didn’t think they had hit it but there was no way it was damaged by anyone else. On Friday night we actually saw our neighbours hit one as they were reversing onto their drive. Thankfully they didn’t break it. Today our neighbour came round to say the pots were causing them trouble as they can’t seem them. Again I will point out they are 20cm (a whole bricks length) inside the boundary line, they are not “on” the boundary at all and do not overhang our neighbours driveway at all. Our neighbour also said she’d stumped her toe on the pots when she went out to our elderly neighbour the other night. Again, that means she was walking on our driveway. My question is AIBU by wanting to leave the pots where they are or should we move them?

Get much larger pots and paint them white. As long as they are on your side of the boundary it is up to them not to hit them. Or just get some of those huge white rocks.

Sounds petty tbh. Unless you think your neighbours are weird folk who like smashing plant pots they obviously can't see them easily when reversing. Apart from someone's coat hitting your dhs car I can't see what you are so bothered about. Good relations with neighbours are more important than whether anyone sets foot on your driveway in my book but you may feel differently.

Get taller pots

They’ll be complaining your pots have damaged their car next! Unreal.

What am I missing here - why does it matter if people walk over your drive? It’s paved so they’re not doing any damage, not like they’re walking over your prize pansies is it

Think we need a diagram

Send them a bill for the pots then use the money towards a fence

Fence not an option? Then bigger pots seem in order. I quite like bamboo pots as a screen

Talk boundaries to her. It doesn't need to be a big deal.

Also get cctv

Put up a fence, she'll see that.
It's not petty, no-one should be entering your property either walking across it or reversing onto it which she's clearly doing if she's hitting the planters.
What would happen if there was a brick wall there?
She'd either learn to reverse into her own property or continually knock the wall down.
This is a hill I'd die on and I have lovely neighbours, were good neighbours because we respect each other and each others property.
Also, where's your diagram 😁

Just tell her to keep off your garden problem solved
and how would she like to pay for the pot she broke

They’ve damaged them deliberately because they’re angry at losing access to your property.

Put up a video door bell and record the fuckers,

Diagram needed to be able to judge unreasonableness

Surprised anyone thinks youre being reasonable. They can’t see them, they have told you the issue, you don’t need to remove them just paint them white or something.

to be fair you lost me though at hitting your 70 k merc with a coat 😂

Tell them to use their mirrors and they'll manage just fine 🤣

Tell them that's what wing mirrors are for... to see what's behind you, especially when reversing. Sounds like an excuse them "not being able to see the pots". Personally I'd be getting taller pots or a fence!

Camera, then any further damage go round with a bill. Might focus their minds a bit on staying on their own bloody drive.

Stick some bamboo canes in the pots, if you feel like being helpful? You could add a jaunty flag if the mood takes you.

Or caltrops. Also effective if a mediaeval army invade your front garden. Multipurpose.

Just tell them they have obviously bern walking on your property so tough if the hurt themselves. Personally I would put a fence up, 3 ft high between you and the neighbours

A pair of big replica Sphinx statues with motion activated eyes that light up could look quite enigmatic on your driveway. Consider getting a house name plate that says 'Giza.' That should confuse your neighbour.

I think people are allowed to walk on your property but you are not allowed tripping hazards on your driveway as you are liable if anybody hurts themselves on them.

YABU for telling us the cost of your dh's car.
Is it relevant?

i had issues with local kids riding over my open plan small front lawn drove my dog mad.problem solved low metal stick in fence with posts from b and q, one of the kids actually stopped and asked why we were putting the fence up.its your property;not your fault if they cant drive, agree need bigger items higher,stand your ground,i also think they were damaged on purpose

like all neighbour situations in real life you need to just have an actual conversation.

Pots on on our drive, of your car is hitting pots then you are driving on our drive. If you stub your toe on post then you are walking on our drive. Please stick to your drive.
Be nice, smile, be friendly and be clear that you don't want them on your drive.

This. Get taller pots if you are worried. If the neighbour can't see them, they can't see them.