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.

You know they're very careful to check for the nests that 5 minutes ago you didn't think existed in hedges? 🤔

Are these small trees in pots either side of your door? If he's taken the whole top off then yes Id say it is. Can we see what he's done to one of them?

Privet hedges. They’d be 20 foot tall and nearly as wide after 7 months. They don’t have anything nesting in them though.

To be honest I would talk to your landlady who it sounds like lives next door and leave it to her to deal with. Not worth you getting too invested in it all because it isn't your house.

Yes because they’re professionals. In 20
years and multiple companies we have never had a criminal report or customer complaint. So there you go

I think although your neighbour does sound intimidating this is probably the best option.

I suggest he buys some replacements asap. There are places that sell large ones and deliver.

Birds definitely do nest in hedges and nobody should be cutting hedges back during nesting season. Not least because it is illegal to disturb a nest.

blimey, that would be an MN first!!

This is classic MNs, ignoring the OP and getting into an argument about cutting hedges 😆

Of course border hedges have nests in them. Dunnocks and other ground-feeding small birds always nest low to the ground in hedgerows - garden or field or in the city - that’s their habitat!

Did you ask him why he cut your bay trees down? And if so, what did he say?

Who owns the hedge

But we have been growing the bay trees for three years and he has trespassed and cut them down. They framed the front door beautifully. He has been intrusive and petty.

That’s awful!

keep hope though. They might grow back. They are quite resilient.

Call his bluff. Tell him that you have a witness/video

Give him a bill for new bay trees and your bank details

Eh!! Are you joking?

I would say it is criminal damage OP, but the bay trees should grow back luckily.
I hope you did check for nesting birds though.

Whose boundary is it?

He admitted he did it in retaliation for us trimming the hedge!

Well I think you separate the issues.

you speak to landlady first. And confirm you have done what is required in terms of the lease.

and advise her what he has done, purely to keep landlord Tennant relations good.

then you contact the police, re trespassing and criminal damage.

Yes. This.

Birds 100% nest in our massive hedge and our small one....

Contact police and ask neighbour when he going to replace them like for like

What a fucking arsehole.

Had to be a bloke didn’t it. I know what I’d like to cut off in retaliation.

Sorry that’s happened OP

Having said that, it does pay to have a “just to let you know, I’m trimming the height of the hedge as per my lease” conversation in advance. Especially with arseholes