Neighbour trimmed the tree that hangs over in to her garden......but

[Blushingm]

She chucked all the bits she trimmed over in to my garden

Is this normal?

I don't mind her trimming it - trees grow - but I'm pissed off that she threw it all over in to my garden

Ok I’ll bite. What am I imagining 😂 I’m intrigued?

None of what you posted about such as the neighbour is fed up etc has actually been mentioned by the OP.

Well if you don’t grasp that, then anything further I could add would be wasted on you.

Okay so now you're adding your own narrative, gotcha.

Bless you

If you don't like being called out, don't do it.

Simples.

😂 I stand by my posts. I’m sorry you don’t understand. Enjoy your evening.

So, the RHS says the following, and gov. uk site and citizens advice do not contradict them.

What do I do with the prunings?
Once branches are cut off they should be offered back to the tree owner. If the owner doesn’t want them then you will be responsible for disposing of the prunings; you can’t simply throw them over the boundary into your neighbour’s garden

My neighbour cut his lovely little tree that overhangs my side, he told me he will trim it and he's happy for me to throw it back over the fence, it looked like a little bit and I was like oh don't worry I'll throw it away for you, no bother! Well I regretted that, haha it looks like a little bit but when gathered it filled a whole bin bag

I think your neighbour was overwhelmed with the amount of trimmings and sent it over to your side as it's your tree, therefore ur rubbish as you haven't trimmed back your tree

Well said @Heatwavenotify , with your posts on P10

@Heatwavenotify spot on

Many posts arguing about what the law is on this...

Surely the main point should be about keeping a good relationship with your neighbours to avoid annoyance/conflict in the first place, so you don't need to worry about the fine details of the law?

The OP should maintain the trees on her property so that they don't end up encroaching on the neighbour's garden who then has to do the trimming herself.

That's just common courtesy.

But the OP continues to be tone deaf and focus only on her outrage at the trimming being put back in her garden, the fact that she does not believe the tree needing cutting without considering the neighbour's point of view for a minute.

Take responsibility, maintain your garden and trees. Problem solved...

There are a lot of bad neighbours, and they aren't op. Literally zero excuse for chucking branches over rather than speaking like an adult and asking if op could take them. Like, zero.

Legally this is what a neighbour should do. Some will ask you if want them but ultimately you ‘own’ the branches

That's actually what you're meant to do, yeah.

Is anyone reading anything except the OP?

It is the law. You are allowed to cut back tree branches overhanging your garden, but you MUST put the branches over the fence to the owner.

This is because if the tree branches are fruit bearing, the one who prunes will not be accused of stealing fruit when it is ripe.

😂 RTFT ffs

A bit of history. In 1894 it was decided by the case of Lemmon v Webb in the Court of Appeal [1894] 3 Ch 1 and then the House of Lords [1894] UKHL 1 that where branches overhang the land of another person then that person can cut back the branches as long as they don't enter the other persons land to do it.

This is because overhanging branches are a "nuisance" and you have a right to take steps to abate any nuisance that you are suffering.

Lemmon v Webb [1894] 3 Ch 1

Lemmon v Webb [1894] UKHL 1

However, if there is a Tree Preservation Order in existence then this takes priority unless the tree is causing actual damage to your property (eg subsidence).

There was a later case in 1919, Mills v Brooker [1919] 1 KB 555

In this case, the guy cut some overhanging branches from his neighbour's apple tree and sold the apples for a profit.

It was held that he had the right to cut down the branches but had no rights of ownership of the branches or apples growing on them. So, you can cut the branches down but you can't make use of them yourself. It was also stated that fruit remains the property of the tree owner whether it's still on the tree or is a windfall.

Perhaps part of the confusion about "must return" comes from the actual wording of the judgment in Mills v Brooker where it talks about the branches and apples must be returned or you may be liable for "conversion" of the apples and branches.

Don't forget that in this case, the guy was selling the apples so they definitely had a value.

Now one of the defences against a claim of conversion is that the original owner consented to let you have the item (the branches, apples or whatever). That is why people say that you must ask the tree owner if they want the cuttings back. If they decline then they have agreed to you having them. The cuttings then belong to you and it is up to you to dispose of them appropriately.

Throw the bits back over?

Most neighbours would prefer the tree to have been planted further away from their boundary fence so this kind of thing wouldn't be a problem!

Far too many people plant trees right to their boundary which inflicts half of it on their neighbours.

Legally as the tree belongs to you and it is encroaching on to her land she can trim it back. As the tree is your property so are the trimmings.

This

My one neighbour has a huge tree and brambles that are growing over our fence, they never trim it or take proper care of their garden so we just cut them and whatever falls in ours we put in the bin but try to get it to fall in theirs lol. We work hard to take care of our own house and garden and are on a very tight budget and also have health problems so can't see why we should have to tackle their garden too. They paid someone once to clear their garden and had the cheek to shove loads of rubbish, including a huge metal line post, broken windows etc down the gap between our fence and our garden wall.

It's presumably your tree though? I wouldn't get worked up about it tbh, surely you can just sling the trimmings in your brown bin and move on? And I guess next time cut your own tree before it starts hanging over into her garden, then you won't have to worry about where the clippings end up because you'll be the one taking care of it anyway