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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves

578 replies

Sparkies2012 · 13/11/2023 20:40

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?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 15/11/2023 12:22

Oh, and you can play 'If you leaf me now...' at full volume as I do it.

Missedmytoe · 15/11/2023 12:26

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 15/11/2023 11:49

I returned to my parked car yesterday to find that a bird had done an enormous poo on the windscreen. I know that the couple three streets away have a canary, so I'll have to go straight over there and give them a load of righteous abuse - what further proof of guilt would you need?

Don't forget to put the bird poo in a black bag and put it on their driveway.

MrsSlocombesCat · 15/11/2023 12:32

I don’t even know if neighbours leaves blow into my garden because I couldn’t give a toss if they did. At this time of year you expect to see leaves everywhere it’s such a non issue. They need a hobby, clearly.

VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia · 15/11/2023 12:56

ClawedButler · 15/11/2023 10:13

Spent a cheerful hour last night thinking of songs that would be enjoyed by an audience of leaf-bagging loons:

Trees release me, let me go
Don't leaf me this way
50 ways to leaf your neighbour
Love me or leaf me
I beg your pardon....I never promised you a leafless garden
Shut up and (clear the) drive

The jazz standard Autumn Leaves.

Emotionalsupportviper · 15/11/2023 12:57

Namechangey23 · 15/11/2023 07:34

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.. 😀

Good idea!

Make your own home completely unsaleable if you ever decide to move, OP.

Emotionalsupportviper · 15/11/2023 13:01

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 15/11/2023 11:49

I returned to my parked car yesterday to find that a bird had done an enormous poo on the windscreen. I know that the couple three streets away have a canary, so I'll have to go straight over there and give them a load of righteous abuse - what further proof of guilt would you need?

😂

VitoCorleoneOfMNMafia · 15/11/2023 13:08

Emotionalsupportviper · 15/11/2023 12:57

Good idea!

Make your own home completely unsaleable if you ever decide to move, OP.

It sounds like OP is already in dispute with the neighbours so that ship has already sailed.

OP READ THIS
gateleyplc.com/insight/article/fly-tipping-legal-remedies-for-private-landowners/

Santaiswashinghissleigh · 15/11/2023 13:11

Come on op any update.. Don't leaf us in suspense...

lolabear1243 · 15/11/2023 13:22

Elderly people get so het up about stuff like this (maybe they're worried about falling over on the leaves? To keep the peace I'd do a token effort sweep up to be honest) but the posts here seem to be in favour of leaving them to it and if they bring you presents dump them into their flower bed and tell them it's an excellent fertilizer 🤣 x

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 15/11/2023 14:34

maybe they're worried about falling over on the leaves? To keep the peace I'd do a token effort sweep up to be honest

Would you suggest that the people who actually own the tree do the same, or has OP's house just been deemed the 'unlucky' one, meaning that she gets to do the forfeit all on her own?

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 15/11/2023 14:48

...and if they bring you presents dump them into their flower bed and tell them it's an excellent fertilizer

Wait, can I just check if you're referring to the leaves/any other presents, or to the neighbours themselves?! Grin

Obsessive neighbour losing the plot over leaves
Sparkies2012 · 15/11/2023 15:03

Last update, I forgot to put out the note this morning but just came home to find yet another bag of leaves against our fence, but this time they were out sweeping as I got there. I just said, I hope you are going to pick those bags up when you finish. It then all kicked off, we got blamed for having a gap at the bottom of our fence purposely to let the leaves blow out, that we are colluding with the tree owner as he’s doing nothing about it either, and that we are not being very neighbourly. Just to clarify these are able bodied retired people and they have had many gripes with many neighbours over various little things in the past few years. They said “why should we deal with the leaves blowing into our front door, we don’t even have a tree” to which I replied - neither do we! I told them we are not producing the leaves, it’s autumn. Nature is producing them and we don’t bother clearing them as they will eventually decompose, but there was no telling them. I said that they can’t tell us to pick them up, any more that we can go next door and ask the tree owner to apprehend the leaves before they drop into our garden The fella even admitted climbing over our fence one day to pick up leaves from our garden, to which I replied - so you are a trespasser as well as a fly tipper! In the end I just walked away, there was just no reasoning with them so I guess I’m going nuke shopping this weekend!

OP posts:
greenandbluebananas · 15/11/2023 15:14

I don’t comment on any threads but this one has me bent over laughing so much I wet myself and am now late for collecting my kids.

3luckystars · 15/11/2023 15:17

😂😂😂

TorroFerney · 15/11/2023 15:35

AlocasiaPolly · 15/11/2023 11:32

I could almost have written this post about my mother apart from the passive aggressive bag leaving, she does bin them herself, and complains bitterly about it!
She has a bee in her bonnet about next doors tree, and has my dad outside cleaning up multiple times a week. She genuinely has too much time on her hands, and worries about her drains getting blocked, wet leaves sitting at the side of her house which could cause damp, etc etc. I get regular phone calls with leaf status updates 🙄.
Her answer is to move, which has prompted even more frantic leaf clearing ahead of every. Single. Viewing.
I can't help with a solution OP, but you aren't alone.

I truly think your parents are my neighbours .

AlocasiaPolly · 15/11/2023 15:43

I did wonder 😂

wildwestpioneer · 15/11/2023 15:50

I'd tip the bags of leaves out on their driveway. Or if you don't want to be accused of walking on their property, tip them back on your garden and let them blow naturally into theirs Grin

SoftKittyBazinga · 15/11/2023 16:29

Pinkywoo · 14/11/2023 13:19

National express? Confused

Generation (se)X - surely 🤣

Stressedafff · 15/11/2023 17:09

Tip the bags upside down but leave it open in their garden, when they pick the bags up to angrily walk over to yours all the leaves will cover them 🤣🤣🤣 pair of idiots they want to get a grip

catattacks · 15/11/2023 17:50

Bless them! How old are they? Are they the generation who will enjoy retirement for approximately 30 - 40 years?

1974devon · 15/11/2023 17:52

People can be such wombats can't they. Our neighbour is like that over rubbish blowing into his drive way when windy.. if anyone's bin bags are put a cm too close to his 'boundry' he moves them all outside our gate. Even tho not our bags either!! One day he stropped round to a house in the next road as their milk bottle had ended up in his driveway?! How he knew it was theirs none of us ever worked out. He's a typically annoying nob type.. paints fence panels same weekend each year.. goes out same time every weekend..cuts grass to a mm all the bloody time..you know the sort...

Highonahilllivesalonelygoat · 15/11/2023 17:55

This would be hilarious!!

IaaFLf68 · 15/11/2023 18:01

I think both you and the elderly couple are being quite petty, but given their age I think you should cut them some slack. Sweeping up leaves is a chore but costs nothing apart from a little time (and it's good exercise!). They will probably have too much time on their hands to dwell on what you might consider unimportant things. Its not worth falling out over a pile of leaves. Bite your tongue and get out the sweeping brush!

therealcookiemonster · 15/11/2023 18:07

@Sparkies2012 forget nukes OP, hard to get hold off and you will have to move

I suggest making peace Xmas cookies

I understand laxatives add a certain je ne sais quoi ... movicol happens to come in powder form

Moorem666 · 15/11/2023 18:11

You might want to tell them that they are committing an offence by leaving what is, in effect, rubbish that they have collected, that does not belong to you, at your gate.
They are fly-tipping.
Tell them that you have them on video and you shall take legal action if they do not stop.
You shall be be suing them for stress plus costs.

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