Neighbours lit bonfire before 4pm

[Bonfiredrama]

it was a very sunny day last week - I had 2 loads of washing out and my mum and kids were in the garden. Neighbours next door have a 3ft fence between our gardens. My kids were playing near the fence and my mum was sitting out watching them while I popped to the shop around 3.30.

The neighbour had started lighting a bonfire and chucking all sorts of stuff on it from around the garden (my mum said flames were about 6ft high)

My mum shouted over politely: ‘hey we have kids playing outside here and washing on the line, please can you put that out’. The neighbour can’t communicate very well in English but we usually get by with pleasantries etc. She started shouting and saying that my mum can’t tell her what to do and that she was being rude.

the daughter came out and my mum was explaining about the kids and the washing. The daughter screamed ‘I don’t give a fuck about your kids” - with my kids right there in earshot. My 6 year old could easily understand what she said.

I am fuming particularly about screaming in front of my kids. AIBU? What would you do? I have their landlord details but I don’t know what to do next. I don’t really want to go down the council route as we will have to declare it if we move house.

If that's the only incident then I'd do nothing.

If I’s a one off then I’d just leave it.

If it happens again them soak it and her with a long hose

What's the relevance of 4pm?

The council aren’t going to do anything about you both blowing the incident out of proportion. You normally get on and exchange pleasantries just go back to that.

I mean they should have given your mum a chance to get the washing in, but why would they put it out just because she wanted them to?

It's not particularly sociable to light a bonfire when your neighbours have washing out, but they didn't actually do anything wrong.

Some councils have rules about doing it after a certain time. Think it was 6pm where I once lived.

Sorry - worded clumsily - I know it was before 4pm but sure exact time..

Guidelines, not rules.

There are no times stated in any uk laws.

Why did you mum think she had the right to tell someone what they can do in their own garden? It might be inconvenient and inconsiderate to you, but that’s what happens when you live close to other people.

There’s nothing to go to the council or their landlord about. They are allowed a bonfire at any time. The 4pm rule is just an urban legend.

I’m sure that this isn’t the first time your daughter’s heard someone swear in her six years. As a Mum, you can let her know the neighbours were angry and didn’t mean it…if she was even bothered.

the Council guidelines are not to cause a nuisance to neighbours by lighting bonfires so not to do it on a fine day when they are using their gardens, have vulnerable people around such as children / elderly (check and check) or have washing drying (check). Interested to see that some people would have no issue with it though.

Yep sorry sleep deprived 😬

You council bonfire guidelines actually mention vulnerable children and the elderly??

As long as they're not burning anything toxic, the smoke isn't streaming straight into your home or across a road, the council won't be sending anyone out.

because it's really inconsiderate to start burning stuff in the afternoon when kids are out playing, washing is out around your neighbours properties and people have most likely got their doors/windows open.

I've just done some burning tonight, started about 6:30, but it's gone a bit colder, just starting to spit with rain, everyones washing has been taken in and neighbours around me have their doors/windows closed, otherwise I wouldn't have started.

If she spoke to me like that in front of the kids I'd have put it out with the hosepipe.

I have a real bug bear of bonfires during the best part of day light hours, especially on a lovely sunny/warm day.

Why, IMO there's only one type of person that thinks "what a beautiful day let's have a bonfire"...especially when it's burning for most of the day.

Worse still is when you do ask if they'd mind putting it out until later in the day and you're given a load of abuse and told its their garden and they'll do what they like...
They're so thick.
When you then reply yes, I know its your garden to do as you like but could you please afford me the same to do as I like in mine and ask your smelly bonfire smoke to stick to your own garden I'd much appreciate it they suddenly become speechless and look blank in the brain.
Really do think some people shouldn't be allowed to play with matches.

They do, I promise! There’s a big pdf which I’m tempted to print and post to them (not petty at all) 😂

Our neighbour the other side does a lot of dusk /evening ones and we have never complained! Would never complain after about 5pm.

If it was a one off I'd not give it a second thought. Mildly annoying but nothing more. If they did it every Saturday from April to October it's worth trying to reach a resolution.

It's dusk where I am but it was last week op, what can you do about it now?

They were inconsiderate but a women who doesn’t even live there told them what to do in their own garden. You can’t complain about them swearing in front of your kids when your mum started it… in front of the kids. She’d have been better off asking for a private word or just taking the washing in.

Maybe I am being a bit over-protective of my mum and kids. I think my mum had a right to politely ask them not to start a bonfire yet while we were using the garden and to let us bring washing in first. It seemed such a disproportionate response from them and I think the teenage daughter should apologise for the language. But maybe I should just accept that there won’t be any apology and get over it 😂 I had no time to think about it over the weekend so I’m now stewing again ha.

I love bonfires!

Misses point of thread.

They’d already lit it though so putting it out while you took your washing in would be pointless. It’d make more smoke putting it out. Time to move on from this one OP

I like this. Sprinklers may get turned on full blast by mistake.