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?

If they've already collected the leaves, and put them in a bag, then surely you just need to throw the bag? Technically they've done the difficult picking up part.

I know I'm the minority here but I'd just throw the bags

I'd empty them on their car.

Some people are just insane.

There's a woman around our way who religiously leaf-blows her driveway at least three times a week. Except that our street is lined with trees, and we have a park within spitting distance. As and when I can, I collect the leaves up, bag 'em and mix them into the stuff in my compost bin.

Plant several blossom trees. Ask your neighbour with the tree to do the same. Play the long game.

I'm not sure I'd return the bag of leaves to them. I think id be inclined to pick it up and slowly tip the leaves back out on your drive whilst staring into their window knowing full well they'll all blow straight back over the road. Then reuse the bag for your actual rubbish. All the hard work of sweeping for nothing.

Who the hell were the 4% of voters who think OP is BU?

This ^^

Perhaps they clicked the wrong button!

Don't know about where the OP lives, but it's not that simple where I live.

You can't put leaves in the general waste, nor the recycling, you have to put them in the green compost bin. The green compost bin is not emptied from end Oct to April. One good sweep up (I have two large trees at the front of my house, belonging to the council, my attempts to charged them for my labour have been ignored) fills the bin, so I can only sweep once per leaf dropping season. And there's tons more. So you'd have to take them to the tip, which is eight miles away.

I don't mind the leaves at all, but the vast majority of the area they fall is paved, so they don't rot down and fertilize any soil - they turn into grubby slippery dangerous mulch that blocks the drains and freezes in winter. So they do need to be swept up at least a bit.

Why are they actually doing this? There must be more to it. It's really unnecessarily antagonistic

Well, by their logic - if when the leaves blow onto your drive they become your property, when they blow onto their drive they become their property, no?

Make them a handmade Christmas card that's just a boatload of leaves stuck to a PVA-sodden piece of A4 with more leaves inside (á la primary school artwork) and sign it from "the leaves".

Because if leaves bother them this much, Christmas cards in November will send them over the edge.

I like your style Betty.

@Sparkies2012 when is episode 3049 on?????😁

People with astroturf or concrete yards.

If they left the bag on my property, I'd open the bag and pour them back out to blow back onto their property. They'll soon stop wasting their hard work. What is it with old people and leaves 🙄

But sad really that they have nothing better to do or think about

My elderly neighbour gets cross because I don’t pick up the leaves from the tree across the road. It isn’t my tree and it isn’t my land but apparently the man who lived here 20 years ago helped the man who lived opposite 20 years ago plant it, so I am now (quite obviously) entirely responsible.

Dump the bags back on their doorstep and rip a massive hole in the bottom of the black bag in the hope they spill out all over the drive when they move them.

Mine has been out with a leaf blower today
Not entirely sure of the point in that given the howling wind and driving rain
But no, Mr "must use every noisy tool" was out with his hood up and leaf blower

Leaf blower is clearly the way forward. Your drive will be completely clear so you can't possibly be responsible.

But telling them to stop fly tipping is probably a better way to get them to stop completely.

🍃 🍁 🍂

So sorry, my bad, left leaves on your thread

Do you have a Ring doorbell, or similar? I would tell them you have footage of them doing this and if they repeat it you will contact the council/police.

Or boom out when you see them "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" from the ring doorbell intercom.