Neighbour has cut 5 of my tree's/bushes down!

[Zara290]

So today my neighbour came around and asked if they can cut some of our trees because they have said they block their satellite signal.
I can't remember exactly the words he used but I presumed he meant cut the top off them so I agreed. For context my heads alittle bit all over the place at the moment as I've just lost my dad very suddenly - I mentioned this to him during our conversation.
Anyway I got on with the day, cooking Sunday dinner etc when my husband came in from being in the garden and told me they had cut loads down! I went out and I could of cried, they have cut a combination of 5 tree's and bushes down - completely gone and left it all for us to clean up. He said as he left "right that will do for today, hopefully you will get some fire wood out of that"

I feel really angry and sad, this area is abit overgrown - we've only been here 8 months and the house and garden need alot of work but we are slowly getting there. I hadn't really had chance to decide what we wanted to keep in this area yet but there is alot of established tree's, plants and bushes here and I was looking forward to seeing what we had - well not anymore as they've completely flattened a large area of it and now I've got so much more rubbish to try and deal with now ontop of everything that is going on personally, oh and they don't like us doing fire's so I won't be able to burn it either!

I doubt very much that this was disturbing his signal. He just wanted your trees down. You need to tell him not to take any more off. If they are overhanging on to his land then he has every right to do so.

How did he access your land to cut the trees down, a photo might help us understand access and what he's done. It's an offense to cut down trees if there are nests.

@MissMoneyFairy ? The OP agreed to him coming into her garden. She thought to trip the height of the trees. He’s cut the shrubs and trees down. She gave him permission without clarifying what he was going to do!

Your neighbour is an arsehole to do that. He must have been wanting those trees down for a while. Make absolutely sure he can’t get in your garden again if he went in your garden to attack your trees.
As others have said, he can trim back overhanging branches up to the boundary line. He can offer you the cuttings back.
Don’t be bullied by this neighbour as some can be demanding and think they can do what they want with other people’s gardens.

I am so sorry for the loss of your Dad OP, you are going through such a difficult time. Please accept my condolences.

You gave him the green light and he’s taken full advantage.
I would absolutely stop him cutting anything else and say ‘I didn’t imagine you’d be cutting all of this down- it’s quite a job’. Then I’d get some conifers 🤗🤣.
Were they blocking light? I find it difficult to believe this was for a satellite dish? Wouldn’t be surprised if something crops up in that corner.

Thank you. I think lesson has been learnt here. I would never ever dream of going Into someone else's garden and completely cut down their tree's - whilst the person is in their own home grieving for a family member.
We've piled all the cuttings up against the fence again. It just looks like one big mess but I just don't have the energy to do anything with it at the moment and now at least they can look at some of it too.

My neighbour did this to me. It was agreed that he'd fix two fence panels and that he'd chop back a couple of trees that were pushing against the fence. We had a lovely garden with lovely trees which made it very private. He waited to do it until I'd gone away for two weeks, then came in with a mini digger and dug out every single fucking tree and shrub, leaving it completely bare. To top it off, he didn't put the fence panels at the correct height, leaving the public path behind our house to have a full view of our garden and right into the back of our house.

I was livid. He then billed me double what we had agreed for the job. I was even more furious.

Then he had the audacity to complain that people from the public path could now also see into his home (previously shielded by my beautiful trees).

I hate neighbours - cunts.

What an arsehole. Although I've noticed an uptick of posters on here thinking it's okay to do this. Shitty behaviour.

I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad 💖

And your trees. Your holly and lilac should grow back from the stumps, so that's something.

All of these comments about other people really point to one thing. If your trees are a nuisance, deal with the nuisance yourself. If your tree is pushing a fence over - remove that tree. Ditto with horrible leylandii blocking light from others. Tree owners must be reasonable but angry neighbours do awful things. Don’t make them angry by ignoring their concerns. Yes, of course they are wrong but you cannot get the trees back. If they need maintenance, do it!

It’s nearly July, most birds have fledged by now.

Trees / bushes will go back, dependant what there are a good cut-back might not be a bad thing.

“Nuisance trees” is quite a concept! How sad to think that way.

I'm sorry OP, but people have complete brass neck in these situations. Give them an inch and they take a mile, and you've learned this the hard way I'm afraid.

Our neighbour did this to us, and MIL's neighbour did it to her too. We have another neighbour who we have found interfering with our hedge more than once.

As a warning to all other Mumsnetters do not ever let your neighbour do any gardening work in your garden without the closest supervision, and possibly not even then.

@ExtraOnions Law says 31 July. We have had a reminder from the council about this. Second broods etc