Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves

[Sparkies2012]

Our neighbours are a relatively elderly couple and since they moved in have had a bee in their bonnet over leaves that blow onto their driveway. The gate to our driveway is opposite to their open driveway, separated by a narrow road. Our next door neighbour has a massive old tree in their garden that produces a lot of leaves, most of which fall into our driveway. We don’t really bother collecting the leaves, as it is an endless task at this time of the year, but the elderly couple is constantly on at us because the leaves blow across the road into their driveway and the odd one gets in their front door. Now we have told them we don’t produce the leaves, and they don’t bother us, so if they are bothered by the leaves either pick them up or take it up with our neighbour who owns the tree. But now they have even started collecting them in black bags and, under the cover of darkness, leaving them in front of our driveway gate, or throwing them over our fence. I’m tempted next time they do this to open the bag and dump it over their driveway again. AIBU by not picking up the leaves in our garden?

This whole post has made me realise I must never retire! Leaf wars! I would be fuming in your case however I would point to the offending tree/garden every single time they mention it!

I think your neighbours are not handling this well OP and their actions regarding dumping bags of leaves on your property is clearly unacceptable.

However, I just came along to put in my 10p worth regarding the many observations on this post of "batshit", "fucking weirdo" and "obsessive" old folk who are out and about clearing leaves from their paths/drives/gardens - mainly because, I'm one of them!

Wet, rotting leaves are a slip hazard and while that might not pose too much of an issue for younger folk - (if they slip they may well lose nothing but their dignity), a fall for an older person really can be the beginning of the end.

Fragile old bones break easily.

Hip fractures are the stuff of nightmares for old folk.

The fall may well not kill them but the complications post trauma/op may well do.

One UK study showed more than 1/4 of elderly patients died within a year of a hip fracture.

Some older people may never return to their own home again following such an injury.

"Obsessive"? - too bloody right I am.
I shall continue to clear, sweep, and rake the sodding leaves for as long as I'm able.

I'd love it if my neighbour did this for me!!

He has a huge tree and blows all the leaves into my garden each year. Wish he'd bag them up for me, it would save me the job: I use them as free compost fodder!!

at the ageist remarks.

Someone in our housing estate, newbuilds, cut down the tree in her garden (probably illegally) because of the leaves. FWIW they were a decade or two younger than me

When we had a tree out the back, same estate, I did try to vaguely keep on top of the leaves. I made leaf mould, and used our garden waste bin, and asked the neighbours if I could share their garden waste bins.

Yes leaves can be slippery and the neighbours are well within the right to sweep them up, no one is disputing that.

They have no right however to demand OP sweeps leaves up in her own garden from a tree that isn’t even hers! And yes that is batshit obsessive behaviour to then trespass onto her property to sweep leaves and dump the bag blocking access to her property.

Generation Sex.

I don't understand why you haven't thanked them and I'm being truthful. They have taken time and effort to sweep up the leaves. Wet leaves are so dangerous to elderly people who are already so much more fragile and likely to slip over.
We have always made sure to do our but to help our elderly neighbour with issues like these. Who cares if the tree is on your property or not?
This is why previous generations had a much more friendly, community feel as they actually cared about one another and tried to support one another. I think it's sad the responses on this post are so indicative of the world today and how selfish people are. We also work full time and have 3 young children to manage, yet still do this as we care about our neighbours.

Oh the good old days...........

Because the leaves don't belong to OP!

Who cares if the leaves belong to the OP or not. Why doesn't everyone in the street make an effort to rake them and bag them up. It doesn't take that much time. The street would look much tidier and it's safer for everyone.

Get yourself along there to tell the street how it should be done @Mamma1982. Who cares if people have their own lives, priorities and schedules to attend to, you've got a fantasy to impart.

Street cleaning is the responsibility of the local council and is paid for by Council Tax.

Why should OP clean up leaves on her property that she's not bothered about? Why should OP do street cleaning that she has already paid for the council to do?

Why do you think it's OK for the opposite neighbours to fly tip, which is a criminal offence when done on public land, on the OP's property?

edited as I just repeated what I'd said above

The OP cares! She doesn't want to deal with this nonsense, she doesn't have to!

Maybe ask for OPs address and pop round there and clean them up? Alternatively, don't be imposing what your thoughts of being nice are, it's not there priorities.

Ah, I could only think of that one and the one about the wood shed!

Yes, that would be a nice gesture, and how it used to be done. But, I'm sure some of todays young people are much, much too busy for all this...🙄

Thinking of my friend who's a single mum and a nurse:

Rush out to childminder, Rush back home, do homework, dinner, uniform, reading, bathtime. Arrang for sister to sleep over. Get back from night shift:

Drive to brownies on Saturday morning then swimming. Make world book Day costume. Take grandma to the shops. Make that IKEA desk.

And

Sweep leaves from a random tree.

No thanks.

Because other people don't attach any value to your definitions of tidy and nice. Or indeed community feel, since you seem to think that covers fly tipping.

Haven't RTFT, but your neighbours are actual loons. My neighbours have trees that shed zillions of leaves into my garden. I wouldn't dream of holding them responsible, any more than I would hold God or the squirrels responsible for the leaves from local woodland that make all the local footpaths resemble a bowl of old cornflakes.

I am now being asked by eBay if I want to put an offer in on this. Wonder how many other mumsnetters are 😂

This is why the world is heading in the direction it is - nobody cares anymore about helping other people. Only interested in their own lives. I work in the NHS too and I know how pushed for time people are and my own family is...however, I raise my boys with the morals and values I was raised with by my parents and grandparents. Put others first before yourself. We do it as a family to show them the act of helping others, which is why I joined the job I did.

😆

I spend my days teaching children with complex additional support needs @Mamma1982 . It's a tough, demanding job but I love it. I feel like I do my bit helping people and caring.
You don't know anything about any of us. Pipe down and polish your halo quietly.

Eta: I don't give a flying toot about leaves.

That’s perfectly reasonable of you. The batshit part is bagging them up and dumping them at the house of a neighbour that the offending tree doesn’t even belong to!