Very shaken neighbour incident

[Shakennotstirred1]

We don't speak to our neighbours. They are very difficult people & after a string of incidents previously we are no contact.
However today DH was out our front garden (terrace house attached to our neighbours) & hung up a santa with fishing wire.
About an hour later we heard a crash against the window & DH ran out. The neighbour climed a little ladder & had cut the wire & the decoration crashed against the window.
DH roared what are you playing at. The neighbour was roaring the fishing line (which was invisible) was over his garden (it wasn't, was completely in our garden) & then proceeded to call my DH a fat c**r & called him out onto the footpath for a fight.
DH lost the rag back at him but thankfully didn't rise to the bait.
I'm very shaken & after a tough year was excited to put up the decorations with my girls.
Don't know what the next move should be, part of me wants to get even but I just don't want any more agro with them...

Maybe the OP likes her house and doesn't want to move!

I wouldn’t do anything. Hopefully it’ll settle down again. Once you report it, then it’s official, and if/when you want to move, you’ll have to declare it.

I thinkOP just hit the wrong key - should be "c**t"

YABU. For hanging a Father Christmas. It’s naff IMO.

But you do you. It takes all types and your neighbour is a total blathering arsehole. Good for your DH in not being provoked. That will rile your awful neighbour even more. Result!

He was trying to intice my DH to come in front of his own camera! I said really loudly to "dh come in, we have it all on cctv just to let him know!"

If you report it to the police then surely when you sell it that has to be declared?

And Lo! A wild goady fucker appeared.....

I wouldn’t do anything. Hopefully it’ll settle down again

This was our approach till we could get in position to sell - though I think looking back it took a toll on my mental health.

We did put up a higher fence in back when they jumped over exiting and cut our hedge down - then planted very aggressive plants. When they went on flat roof is disconnect our satellite dish - we sorted it and put some anti vandal paint on the roof. Wasn't as much we could do out the front but ignore and carry on - but when they messed with the security light setting we turned it off and they ended up having to fit there own light out the front. When they filled in our cleared path for snow down our drive with their own snow - we just trampled down garden and put gravel other side from them. We were told by others our refusal to engage with or have shouting matches in street her drove her nuts

You've already got CTTV and they know this - so that's something.

I wouldn’t do anything wrt reporting because if you do that you may find it difficult to sell the house in future.

But I would go and buy the biggest Santa I could find, with reindeer and snowmen and all the other tack people put in their gardens at Christmas and would erect it all way out of the way of his garden but make sure it was visible.

But I’m a petty bitch.

Harassment
Criminal damage
Inciting violence
Threatening behaviour
Report it to the police

I really feel for you, I have vile neighbours and cannot afford to move. Yours sound totally mad and spiteful, whatever happened to live and let live? I would love it if my neighbours put up a Santa, what a jolly sight he must have been. The most recent thing my neighbours did was to break into my back yard in the early hours and take out my general waste bin and put their effing rubbish in it! I only have to put my green bin out every 6 weeks or so as I have so little waste. Imagine my shock when I left my house on bin morning to see my bin out in the street stuffed with black bags! They shout and yell all day and most of the evening, asking them make less noise never works as they claim to have "no English" but they know enough to tell me to "f&&k off" when I have asked the to make less noise. I really think you have to have had personal experience of problem neighbours to understand how much it impacts on your quality of life.

I'd have Christmas music, the most annoying and irritating sort pumping out at unpredictable hours of the day and night, I know you would have to put up with it too but it would be worth it for a day or two

This is exactly what I was thinking.

Have you reported it yet OP?

I’d send them a Christmas card. Genuinely. IT would be worth the stamp cost just to annoy him.
a normal
to all at number x

wishing you a truly wonderful and blessed Christmas. May it be filled with love, kindness and peace.

Best wishes
all at number Y

he will explode wondering how to respond

She'd be putting up with it a lot longer than that when the neighbour escalates.

These type of people want reactions. Playing music at all hours will only serve to give them a reason to do it back.

I can't stress enough OP, ignore, ignore, ignore. Put back your santa and go about your life as normal.

If you are thinking of moving in a few years time don't involve the Police. You said yourself you've had a couple of quiet years. Hopefully by not giving them the reaction they want they will get bored quickly and you can plod on until you can move.

For crying out loud!

It's a plastic Santa - not my thing, I admit, but it does no harm and it brings joy to the children.

My NDN had an old bath in the front garden for years! Did we like it? NO! Did it actually cause us any inconvenience? No.

He has just died recently and the house (which was minging!) is being gutted and the bath is gone - he was in every other way a lovely man; he just had mental health problems.

People don't have to wait 20 years for the Santa to go. Not to your taste, perhaps, but not a cause for complaint.

This.

Save the footage and any evidence of past/future incidents you have and keep it for a rainy day.

Oh and please don't let the 'have you called the police yet OP?!' posters push you into doing something you will have to declare down the line. It's not them that have the consequences of that when you can't sell your house and move, some folk on here would just love this to escalate so they can enjoy the ongoing drama.

I agree, it's also odd that there's been no incidents for 2 years and then all of a sudden?? Are you sure the ornament didn't fall down with the wind?

You're not being ridiculous. It's absolutely horrible having vile neighbours xx

Absolutely this!

They are wanting to provoke a reaction - GREY ROCK ALL THE WAY!

Don't speak/ acknowledge/ respond - and certainly don't initiate ANYTHING. You might not involve the police, but you can bet your life they will, as they have already shown you.

Well, the alternative is an uncomfortable atmosphere, threats of violence and property damage. It’s common sense, not escalation.

But you have to declare neighbour disputes if you decide to move - so personally, I'll hold off and see if anything else occurs. There's been 2 years of peace.

They have footage of the guy doing it, so they just need to keep that in their back-pocket.

I love that idea!