Nobhead neighbours and their interminable bonfires

[SixthWorstOption]

They're at it again. Every two or three days, they strike up yet another sodding bonfire at the end of their garden, behind their illegal granny flat outbuilding shed and next to my fence. Nicely away from their own house, of course, but billowing across my garden and into my home.

God knows what they're burning again, but I've just had to run round closing windows and muster the troops to get the washing in off the line. We were sitting outside with a cup of tea enjoying the last of the sun, but are now confined to indoors again. Why can't they use their wheelie bin to dispose of their rubbish like normal people? WIBU to see if my hose will reach their incinerator?

I'd spray water on it every time.
It's not illegal to have a bonfire, but if they don't want it near their home, nor do I.

I have one of those neighbours. Only had to get the hosepipe out once before he learnt his lesson.

Report them to the council.

I've just been looking at the council website and it says if you really must have a fire, avoid weekends and bank holidays . I'm honestly baffled as to why they need so many fires - I'm assuming it's just household rubbish, but why can't they use the bin?!?

Most places have quite firm rules about what you can and can't burn, and household waste is usually banned.

I have a neighbour who used to make enormous bonfires, often with all sorts of dodgy stuff on them (plastic etc), and when we first moved here, other people would get cross because they were so big they were absolutely terrifying - the ash would come down onto the street from the far end of her garden. At some point she informed me that I needed to move items in my garden because the heat from the fire would burn them and she couldn't be held responsible. I was absolutely livid and put in writing that if anything on my property was damaged by her fire, I would expect it to be replaced.

She did tone it down a bit (I think everyone else complained too). Could you see if you have any other neighbours who'd try a concerted effort?

That sounds very scary!

I'm tempted to have a discreet word with the neighbours but, due to the layout of the gardens, we're the ones most affected. So I'm not sure whether they'd be bothered enough to support a complaint 😟

Report to your council. They take a dim view of this kind of thing as it’s very antisocial.

Edited to add: take photos as well, so you have proof

More deeply annoying than scary! I can see how it could have been scary if she'd been threatening or intimidating, but she's not - she's just a very odd woman with no sense of social boundaries. But thanks for the sympathy! I bet your neighbours are more annoyed by it than you'd think - a fire burning dodgy stuff smells bad for a long way away IME!

Report to the council and fire brigade. We had a neighbour like this. He was burning commercial waste (he was a landscape gardener).

One day he didn’t put it out properly. We were woken in the early hours by a raging inferno outside our house. If the wind had been the other direction it would have hit our house. Instead it burned down his other neighbour’s shed. The shed where she stored her late husband’s belongings!

The fire fighters read him the riot act and told us to report him to them if he had a bonfire again.

Report to the council and fire brigade. We had a neighbour like this. He was burning commercial waste (he was a landscape gardener).

One day he didn’t put it out properly. We were woken in the early hours by a raging inferno outside our house. If the wind had been the other direction it would have hit our house. Instead it burned down his other neighbour’s shed. The shed where she stored her late husband’s belongings!

The fire fighters read him the riot act and told us to report him to them if he had a bonfire again.

We have a bonfire every couple of months as we have way too much garden waste even for 10 wheelie bins at times! But we always do it around dusk on a cold day when people won't be sitting outside or have washing out, and we check the wind direction so the smoke is blowing away from our neighbours. Plus strictly only dry garden waste.

It’s not just bonfires but sodding fire pits. My neighbours had one going the other night and my flat stank of smoke. I’m asthmatic and it was awful even with an air purifier running. They did put it out when I complained but when it is going I can’t sit out in my garden either.

Another sunny weekend, another bloody bonfire. They had one last night too, luckily it was later on when I'd already brought my washing in. They've just fired up another one - I have three bed's worth of linen out on the line 😡

Same here op. As soon as the sun starts shining, they move into their garden for the next six months. They start the day with breakfast, then lunch on the barbecue. Then later on start a fire pit for dinner and sit around it all evening. It’s only a few feet from my house so I have to keep all the windows and doors closed all summer.

Have you spoken to them?

So sort it out OP?!? All they’re doing is the same thing they’ve always done.

If you haven’t told them how upset it’s making you, why would they stop? They might not give a damn, but they’re not mind readers either

One neighbour near us managed to burn down an overhead phone cable with their bonfire - burning stuff they ripped out of a house they were renovating - that was an expensive 🔥!

We've got a neighbour at the back of us. He runs the place as an air b&b that never seems to be booked out, and hes a builder. Can guarantee everyday in the spring/summer months he has a fire going, we can only assume its work waste as what the hell else could he be burning so often?!
His land is quite big, set back from other houses, and drops off down a slope from his own building. He sets the fire down the bottom of the slope then buggers off leaving it unattended, only returning to chuck more shit on it and to put it out at about 9pm. Around 9am everyday the smell starts and the smoke comes blowing up here. We are supposedly in a smoke free zone, hes been reported by at least 8 houses along the row plus people in a block of flats that hes behind, not a single thing has been done about it in the 7 years we have been here.

I have no suggestions OP but you have my sympathy. The odd one is annoying but easily let go of. Regular though just takes the piss and really affects the quality of life and enjoyment of your own garden.

What are they burning? We have quite a large garden and don't produce enough waste to have a bonfire more than twice a year.

Are they burning waste products linked to a business? If so I thought it was illegal to burn commercial waste except on the property where it is produced.