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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

130 replies

Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 19:36

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.

OP posts:
Genevie82 · 03/05/2025 22:18

Op that’s awful and I’d be fuming. Police will do little (and depending on whether you own the property it isn’t worth having it recorded you have a neighbor issue in case of further sale.)
You now know what he’s capable of doing so get cctv up and it wouldn't happen again; or Atleast you’ll have it recorded.
Second; get a cockerel !

Original poster
Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 22:27

Subtlety1985 · 03/05/2025 22:12

In the UK, a neighbour cannot legally cut down your tree without your permission if the tree is entirely on your property.

However, they do have the right to cut back branches or roots that overhang or encroach onto their property, but only up to the boundary. They must not tresspass onto your land to do so unless you give them permission.

If a neighbour cuts down your tree without permission and it was fully on your property, this may be considered criminal damage and you could potentially take civil action.

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-resolve-neighbour-disputes/high-hedges-trees-and-boundaries

This is really useful, thank you 🙏

OP posts:
rwalker · 03/05/2025 22:28

who’s hedge is it
sounds like he’s gone tit for tat you cut the top of his hedge he cut the top off your trees

rainbowunicorn · 03/05/2025 22:30

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

Of course birds nest in hedges for goodness sake.

Original poster
Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 22:31

FullOfLemons · 03/05/2025 21:53

Call the police and get the incident recorded.

You and some PP may not think they will do anything however it will be helpful if he does something similarly deranged in the future.

If no joy from the police, then you can take steps to recover your losses

Buy replacements trees the same size as the ones he cut down (Paramount plants do large ones and they deliver)

Send him a letter of claim to cover the cost (or rather your losses) with a deadline for payment. You need proof of posting (free from PO).

He probably won’t engage after which you can begin what was known as a small claim (google Money Claim).

He sounds like a moron and so unlikely to be able to fill in the paperwork correctly / submit a coherent defence / turn up at the hearing / convince a judge he is a reasonable person.

As such you will win.

Don’t worry about the lack of any video proof. It would be helpful but it is not essential to your case.

Amazing advice, thank you

OP posts:
Sleepington · 03/05/2025 22:40

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

Of course birds nest in hedges.

ThePoshUns · 03/05/2025 22:42

Try the police first. I’m ex police and as I said above this is a criminal act. He admitted it to you , you never know he may admit it to the police as well. People do sometimes! If he does admit it the police can offer him a conditional caution, the condition being he reimburse you.
if you don’t report it he could do something else, then you may be looking at dealing with him under the harassment act.

HereintheloveofChristIstand · 03/05/2025 22:54

My gran had a neighbour like that.
She had a very large tree in her front garden that the neighbour claimed blocked the light from the garden in the afternoon. Fine, but gran liked the tree and it wasn't overhanging the neighbour's garden.
Neighbour waited until she went on holiday and chopped the tree down. We challenged them but it was a case of 'what you going to do about it? Plant another one? It was quite upsetting, just knowing they had come and trampled over her garden while she was away and damaging her property.

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 22:59

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

Err…of course they bloody do! 😆😆😆

I have loads of hedges, and lots of birds nesting in them. They don’t just nest in trees you know 😂😂

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 23:01

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:17

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.

Don’t be so ridiculous 😂

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 23:04

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:33

i do actually, although admittedly don’t have field hedgerows in my garden.

i do work for a companies that spends millions
every year on landscaping and gardening hundreds of thousands of properties and hedge trimming never stops in nesting season. Tree maintenance obviously does

Show quote history

Then they clearly need to employ someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Lots of birds do not nest in trees as a rule and prefer hedges - robins, blackbirds, dunnocks, wrens to name a very small few.

Someone needs a bit of education.

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 23:08

Didshejustsaythatoutloud · 03/05/2025 21:04

Eh!! Are you joking?

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Just a bit thick I think 😂

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 23:10

Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 21:52

We live on farmland in the middle of nowhere so no ring doorbells sadly. It that’s a good point re keeping a record, thank you

Show quote history

That shouldn’t stop you having a ring doorbell.

Original poster
Yabbadabbadooooooo · 03/05/2025 23:11

MsDDxx · 03/05/2025 23:10

That shouldn’t stop you having a ring doorbell.

Show quote history

Good point! But no one comes to the door so there’s not much point.

OP posts:
NetZeroZealot · 03/05/2025 23:58

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

Birds do nest in hedges and it is a criminal offence to disturb them between 1 March and 1August.

Mumtobabyhavoc · 04/05/2025 00:25

Barring taking legal action I'd go to town on the bloody hedge.

TheHerboriste · 04/05/2025 00:31

I mean, why the F haven’t you called the police??!!

CalmDownCats · 04/05/2025 00:50

If the OP reports this to the police, does she have to disclose this when it comes to selling the house?

Mumtobabyhavoc · 04/05/2025 00:52

CalmDownCats · 04/05/2025 00:50

If the OP reports this to the police, does she have to disclose this when it comes to selling the house?

She said she's a renter.

Lifeissodifficult · 04/05/2025 00:57

Ahhhhh that’s the best comment today 😍
Birds don’t nest in hedges !!!

Rockhopper1 · 04/05/2025 01:06

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

Of course birds nest in hedges . I’ve got two ( at least ) in my garden hedges currently.

PyongyangKipperbang · 04/05/2025 01:29

NetZeroZealot · 03/05/2025 23:58

Birds do nest in hedges and it is a criminal offence to disturb them between 1 March and 1August.

Show quote history

Absolutely correct. My parents have a large hedge between them and a large sheltered housing complex. They get in gardening "specialists" twice a year who absolutely mangled the hedge last spring. After a MASSIVE fine for fucking up the birds habitiat, they havent been back since......

ETA "They" being the sheltered housing complex, not my parents! My parents were the ones who alerted the council to the hedge damage.

Bestfadeplans · 04/05/2025 01:37

Make a money claim

SecondVerseSameAsThe1st · 04/05/2025 01:46

AquaPeer · 03/05/2025 20:09

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

Show quote history

A quick Google search proves you wrong.

BlondiePortz · 04/05/2025 02:48

Other than saying to police 'he did it because he is a big meanie' what proof do you have?