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?

Oh I love this! 😂

(although I also love leaf litter for the garden so I’d be thrilled to have bags of leaves delivered!)

@Whiteday
Oh the good old days...........

This was your reply to someone who helps their neighbours now, and remembers that people used to help each other in the past.

Some bits of the old days are still going. Where there are kind people who help each other. In 2023! Imagine!

If my neighbours took to flytipping on my drive way, I would not be helping them ib any way in the future.

I don't think anyone has an issue with old people clearing leaves to protect themselves from slips and falls. The issue here is that these people are then illegally fly-tipping the collected leaves on @Sparkies2012 property. Furthermore, Sparkies2012 does not even own the tree from which the leaves fell!!

This is why there are so many "batshit" comments.

By all means, clear leaves up to your hearts content, but when people then dump them elsewhere, on someone else's property, then they are acting illegally, obsessively and are fucking batshit.

As you said yourself, these people are not acting as they should. This has nothing to do with the reasons as to why older people clear leaves for safety reasons, which are justified. It's the fly-tipping that makes this ridiculous.

Tbf there have been a fair few comments along the lines of "it's just leaves" and "ooh nature, it's all so wonderful and if you don't think dead wet leaves are life affirming you're a concrete faced fascist.

Leaves are anything but life-affirming when they block the gutter outside my garage and make it flood. Still not anyone's problem but mine to clear them up.

I don't know what you're getting at?

Do you give your neighbours a Christmas card each year? It would be so lovely of you to get them a Christmas card and glue all the leaves onto it and post it through their door or a peace offering gift, o box of leaves.

Maybe I read it wrong, @Whiteday, but I read it that you were sneering at "the good old days."

My apologies if I misunderstood.

No you're totally right! I was sneering at "the good old days", because it's utter bullshit! The good old days when children were abused because they weren't listened too? The good old days when police turned a blind eye at domestic violence? The good old days when people were judged by how clean the front step was, meanwhile being awful to their children behind closed doors?

Yeah those were great old days, because everyone was totally superficial!

Jimmy Saville, part of those good old days, great bloke, did loads for charity, must be a great bloke!

I was born in the early 50s.
The topic being discussed was neighbourliness, I thought?
I experienced plenty of that in my childhood.
And since then I have also experienced it in the NE ex-mining village where I spent much of my adult life.
Since moving here 5 years ago, I have experienced it in the block of flats where I live.

Of course all that shit happened. But that had nothing to do with the point made by the poster to whom you replied.

What's neighbourly about some one dumping leaves in a random persons garden? That's bang out of order? Are you actually saying OP should accept that? Because its neighbourly to not say "dispose of them yourself"?

No, I don't hold with every old person should be respected, getting old doesn't make you a saint!

@Sparkies2012
Project the cctv image of neighbour returning leaves onto the front of your house for all to see.
10ft sized image with you doing a David Attenborough style voiceover of the leaf shifter in action.

Even if the leaves had come off your tree what the heck could you do about it!

I would mention on the note fly tipping is illegal and you will report them next time .

@Sparkies2012

I don’t know, the fly tipping note is a bit tit for tat - and I think you might need to be the bigger person here. You’ve got to live with them, and I think a ‘war’ could lead to an escalation.

Could you take the leaves back, offer to put them in their garden bin - explain that they are not your leaves either. Ask what their concerns are (slipping). Explain the legal stance (from RHS): Leaves Can I tell my neighbour to come over and sweep up the leaves from their overhanging tree?
No. The owner of a tree is not obliged to clear up fallen leaves. The exception is if damage occurs as a result (e.g. blocked drains) in which case it is advisable to notify the tree owner in a letter.

But explain that putting rubbish on your property is illegal.

I think a neighbourly agreement is better if possible.

Yes I would slam them with the illegal fly tipping. If they think it's going to cost them they will stop. Nutters!

<offers popcorn>

You clearly missed the ‘somewhat”

cowering little bedding plants

I can see those trembling little fronds as though they were sitting in front of me. WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE PANSIES? 😥

she cleans behind her fridge every week

You can clean behind a fridge? 😮

Lawn of the Dead.

God! I wish I'd thought of that @ClawedButler

I am so using it though.

<saunters off singing "I fought the Lawn, and the Lawn won">

I'm intrigued as to how the bag stand off might be this dawn (lawn of the dead indeed). I'm picturing a woman in her dressing gown hands in both leaves screaming at the sky. But i love a big of drama.

This and car parking are two very different issues.

I can have sympathy whilst also acknowledging the wrong on the older couples part.

The op has indicated that talking happened in the beginning and they told the couple the leaves don’t bother them so they aren’t going to do anything about it. We can’t tell from the post how that conversation went in its entirety. Now if the elderly couple went in guns blazing from the start, sure a lot less sympathy but there isn’t anything to indicate that.

Covertly record them dumping bin bags at night. Then shame them on your local village Facebook group by uploading a montage and video crimewatch style with the title can any one identify these miscreants fly tipping on my property. Put posters up in your local shop and notice boards/on all local telegraph poles also.. 😀

Get a compost bin and when they 'leave' them for you, very openly tip them in. Then send them a note thanking them for collecting them for you. I'm sure they'll stop if they think they are helping you. If not, keep composting them. Win , win.