My neighbour chopped down my bay trees. Is this criminal damage?

[Yabbadabbadooooooo]

I trimmed a hedge between our properties, only from my side of the garden. The hedge between us is high as I haven’t got long handled loppers so I took a year’s growth off. I just came home from a day out and the neighbour has chopped down two of my bay trees in retaliation! The hedge is meant to be trimmed, it’s part of the lease. He intentionally came on to my property to chop down the two trees that frame the front door entrance my house. Can I call the police? Is this trespassing? Criminal damage? Thank you so much for any legal input. Our children are all at the same school and our kids are so upset.

Do you have proof it was your neighbour?

I'm sorry to hear this though OP, I'd be absolutely gutted in your position. What a small and spiteful man you have living next door.

Have you spoken to him?

It is criminal damage. Ring 101.

Police won't do anything without evidence. Hope you've a webcam or Ring doorbell capturing them in the act, otherwise nothing to be done.

Got I though I had strange neighbours!

Do you have proof it was him? If so yes ring to report him.

Thats insane. I would imagine if you had tried to contact your neighbour about talk trees damaging your property and after trying and asking them to rectify and receiving no response you made your property secure from damage from the trees, in that situation i would say you’d be within your rights to go on the neighbours property, but to just cause incoherent damage like that is awful! What a hideous neighbour.

Yes it is criminal damage
Yes you absolutely can report to the police
And should.
Do you have proof?

Wanker.

Your neighbour is a twat.

Police won’t do a thing.

Maybe you can take things into your own hands and buy a big shipment of wind chimes and bird feeders which you can then dot strategically alongside the hedge.

Yes thats criminal damage - if you've got proof, take that to the police.

I'd also speak to your landlord, explain whats happened and ask them to explain to your neighbour that you are required to maintain/trim the hedge, to try to avoid him taking revenge in future.

Bay trees in pots by the front door could be worth £50 to £100 each depending on their size. If you have him on a ring doorbell, definitely tell the police about criminal damages. You might be able to take him to the small claims court too.

was the hedge overhanging your garden? Then you are definitely allowed to trim it.

That’s awful and yes, call the police.

Bay should grow again from the base, so a good feed and water and you will soon have two bay bushes. Get topiary trainers to grow into a pyramid. You won’t get the lollipop again but should get something

id be so upset as bay needs a lot of nurturing

Are you saying that you only trimmed your side of the hedge? Or did you do your neighbor's side too? If so did you speak to them first?

Doesn't make it ok for him to come onto your property and cut trees down though. That is criminal damage, although as others have said, police likely won't do anything other than speak to him without evidence.

You could threat/proceed with small claims, however it may not be worth the stress.

Why are you cutting hedges at this time of year when birds are still nesting and bringing up their young ?
If you have proof that your neighbour chopped off your trees you need to report to the police, they are your property and they have been criminally damaged.

Hedges? Birds don’t nest in hedges. You can trim hedges whenever you want. Do you really leave your hedges all nesting season? They must look terrible

OP - def call the police

The law allows hedges in private dwellings to be cut at any time of the year.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hedgerow-management-rules-cutting-and-trimming#check-if-the-rules-apply-to-a-hedgerow-

Of course birds nest in hedges!
I've got a robin and a wren nesting in the privet hedge outside my kitchen

Of course!

Birds do nest in hedges!

OP - who owns the hedge?
If it is your neighbours you can only trim anything overhanging the boundary. You are not allowed to reduce the height - a year's growth could be massive!

And have you got proof that your neighbour damaged your trees?

We had a lane out the front of our old house and it had trees overhanging from the house behind a wall, my husband cut the trees back what was overhanging and the people whose trees it was called the police, they came to see us my husband showed them photos and they said we were within our rights to cut them back

Birds don’t nest in hedges? What?? Of course they do!

Landscaping/ horticulturalists/ any qualified gardener will cut hedges all year round, despite not touching trees in beating season. A standard border hedge shouldn’t have a nest in it. Presumably the bird in your hedge doesn’t have the option of a tree for whatever reason, which is a bit disturbing.

and of course, anyone with half a brain would not cut down a hedge they had observed a nest in.

We have sparrows and blue tits nesting in our hedges every year and would never disturb them. You need to wait until everyone has left home before trimming.

(We also put those large plant pot saucers down, filled with water, for the joy of watching the young-uns have a bath!)