Neighbours and footballs, aibu?

[123dontcomeatme]

I live in a Victoria, bay fronted town house.. long and thin with equally long and thin gardens. Lived here 12 years and never had this issue before .
New neighbours have moved in and since then I've been hit by a shower of footballs daily.
To start with i was throwing them back but then it got to 5 a day, one nearly hitting me, so I stopped giving them back. The boy came and knocked and said it wouldn't happen again.
It happened again the next day, smashing into my window when I was on a teams call at work.
I don't know how my window didn't break.
I went round and the mum said it wouldn't happen again. 2 days later... and again, and again.

We have had a full for about 2 weeks, one just came over and just skimmed my daughters head, one smashed into my back door.
I have had enough. I hsve tried being polite. I'm a huge gardener, I spend hours outside every day and I don't see why I should be ok with my plants and enjoyment being trashed.

I am not confrontational, I don't want bad feeling but I don't know how I'm meant to just put up with it?

Aibu or have I just been lucky with previous neighbours?

Just tell them you're only available to return balls at 9pm every second Sunday. And stick to it!

Or start popping them.

https://www.networldsports.co.uk/stop-that-ball-trade-ball-stop-net-post-system.html+netting_length-10ft~Extender~Kit?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADn0RBkajhsWmKp0ktzzirGVSMegF&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI24_h5snkjAMVjJpQBh13fw_IEAQYASABEgIeO_D_BwE

advise them to buy something like this

YANBU. Pop the next ball and give it back like that. It will stop happening.

Stop giving balls back and if one causes damage/hits you, press charges for damage/assault. Make sure you keep records of communication about it and asking them to stop.

I just let my dog at the balls, tear them to shreds and then throw them back. Stopped pretty quickly, they play against the other sides fence now.

Press charges against a child for assault for a ball going over the fence? Seriously?

I agree with this perspective. This is now just about throwing balls back, it is about damage to property and potentially to humans. I'd be spelling out to the neighbour that it is not (just) the nuisance factor but the safety factor. I'd also take photos of any damage in order to underline your camplaint about damage and harm

Come down hard on this before their garden becomes a make shift football pitch for all the local kids. Tell the mum she has to do something to stop the balls coming over or you’ll have to speak to the council.

If they are old enough technically yes.

The family have be told/asked many times to not let the balls come over and get they continue and nearly hit people.

If his old enough to keep punting it over his old enough to know better. If his not old enough his mum or dad shouldn’t be letting him play so much it’s going over so often.

Have you seen any cases where a kid has been charged with assault for that reason? Any at all?

Don’t return the balls or puncture them and just say you’ve no idea how that happened.

I would also write a note to their parents and say yourself and your children have very nearly been injured on several occasions by the balls and they will be responsible for any injuries or damage to property, including damages to garden plants.

No though I’d doubt it would make the papers.

What tends to happen is a pcso goes around to have a chat about the dangers to other people and normal people have a oh shit yeah my bad kinda moment.

So charges don’t get pressed then? Which is what the poster said. And that probably would make the news if someone pressed charges against a child for accidently hitting someone with a ball over a fence. Police wouldn’t come out when my house got broken into so I’d be fuming if they’re happy to pursue children in neighbour disputes.

OP absolutely should make a big thing of this because the neighbours need to make a change as I suggested, but that posters suggestion is stupid. Plus OP could end up having to declare neighbour disputes if she ever wants to sell while they live there

Don't return them, say you will throw them all back over once a week on a Sunday evening and stick to it.

Put in writing to them that the balls constantly coming over could cause damage or injury and you want it to stop.

They can do this with a ball net at the top of the fence, or active parental supervision, or by taking the kids to a park or football pitch.

How old is the kid op?

The fact his mum has continued to let him play football knowing balls are coming over daily is a really bad sign. She’s continued to allow it even after you’ve had a word, and if he’s got a lot of footballs it’s probably because he’s used to losing them.

I am dealing with something similar and it’s now going down the antisocial route with the council. What started out as one little boy accidentally kicking a ball over occasionally has turned into ten boys shouting and swearing every day and countless balls.

Having a space where disruptive behaviour is allowed will make your neighbours garden a very attractive place for neighbourhood kids to play and their parents will support your neighbour. You will become that neighbour who is spoiling their fun.

Get some cameras. Report it to the council and the anti social team. Do this quickly before she makes friends with other neighbours. My neighbours garden is used in an antisocial way by 4 other families on my street which is why I’ve been reluctant to officially complain.

Its just so crap, I don't want to be dealing with this or having to be causing a problem.

Just spotted another, so that's 3 big leather ones that have come over since 5 and 2 golf balls.

I'm not going to return them, I'll wait for someone to come round and then ask for a parent to come and collect and have another word.

But I'm not going to answer the door tomorrow, it's easter Sunday. And one ball might get a puncture 😁

Golf balls is a whole extra thing. That’s crazy.

Golf balls?! That’s ridiculous, very dangerous! I would be very angry with that and tell them enough is enough footballs are bad enough but golf balls is mad.

We had this a few years ago. All through school holidays, the kid over the back booted footballs over into my garden, usually half a dozen times a day. They hit my windows, the shed, the greenhouse. He'd then run round and hammer on my door, shouting through the letterbox demanding their return. I refused after being disturbed for the 50th time as I was busy (I was wfh at the time) and his dad came round and threatened me. So I said okay, I'd throw them back over the fence. And I did, aiming every single one of them at their kitchen window with about a 90% hit rate. After a couple of days, they stopped kicking them over.

We’ve had angry parents round too. Parents like this don’t perceive their child is violating your space by launching missiles into it.Instead you are a villain who wont return their toys on demand.

Last week the neighbours kids were chanting “we hate our neighbour” on and off all day because they’d again kicked their balls over. I’m not sure how it’s my fault they’re absolutely shit at football, but it somehow is.

I sympathise, we had this with a previous neighbour- lots a day. They started lifting our fence panels and coming into the garden to get them and didn’t like it when we told them not to. We said we would throw them back when it was convenient to us.

They then complained that our dogs were chewing the footballs as the balls were very expensive.

This was the point that my husband lost it and basically told them to get lost or teach their son to kick the ball down the 200 foot garden and not across over the fence!

Also have a neighbour balls come over which aren’t hitting anything. But the constant thudding of the ball is very very annoying goes on for hours.