AIBU to think my neighbour overreacted when my son's ball went astray?

[TheOpalFox]

Just got loads of abuse off a neighbour because my sons balll went into his garden!?!!!

I usually find balls in my garden. It really doesn’t bother me. I just throw them back.

Not about something so trivial no I don’t but people are constantly on here complaining about trivia so whilst I don’t understand I’m not surprised.

My house is back to front so my garden faces the street. If a ball comes into my garden I don't know exactly where its from and its not my job to find out. There are other kids who play with balls in the street. I don't sit and watch for balls coming over the hedge and sometimes they may be there days before I notice them.

If any stray balls are left by the gate they are "available for collection" by whoever is responsible or whoever wants them. That seems fair enough to me and acts as a deterrent to careless play. There is a park quite literally at the bottom of the street.

I can't imagine how mean-spirited and petty you have to be to be annoyed about a sodding ball coming into your garden. A light plastic kids ball is not going to harm anything or hurt anyone. Just chuck it back and don't be a dick.

I still remember my great grandad putting out boards with nails in, in his garden to pop balls coming over as they landed.

Football is for fields and pitches not back gardens. If you can’t keep it in your garden you shouldn’t be playing with it there.

Don’t understand those that go it’s normal childhood, no it’s entitled to expect your neighbours to put up with your sons punting balls over the fences.

Yes, and something I’m sure her neighbours will
remember if - god forbid - she ever needs any help from
them. In my street we try to help each other where possible, rather than trying to go out of our way to make the neighbours’ lives difficult.

Completely. I'm baffled at some of the replies here. Get orf my land!

He sounds like he's on a very short fuse. That sort of unpredictability is unpleasant to have as a neighbour as these people do not behave like normal, well socialised people.

Putting boards up to puncture a kid's ball is just being a bit of a wanker.

Gardens are for playing in and enjoying in whatever way people like. If a ball comes over the fence just chuck it back or let the kid fetch it.

We have footballs coming over our fence regularly. Unfortunately they mainly land in the dense shrubbery which I can’t get into so the young boy next door comes to retrieve them. He’s very polite and even though it’s inconvenient at times (3 times on Christmas Day) and it sets the dogs off barking each time he rings the bell, I’d never swear or be nasty to him. One of my dogs would pop the ball if it landed on the lawn so I always check before I let them out.

If he made any threats I’d lodge it on the non emergency police phone number in case this is the start of ridiculously over reacting behaviour

Except that losing a ball over the fence occasionally is normal behavior. What your revered ancestor did, on the other hand, was not. It was weird and abrasive.

Not always. Some neighbours just dont like kids...and their balls.

What a spiteful thing for your great grandad to do. Some old people forget they were ever young.

My neighbours regularly kick or throw balls into my garden and snap plants, crush flowers, break pots, and make me feel unsafe to sit out in case I get a ball on my head (and footballs are heavy). I am now so pissed off that even if it does land harmless it makes me angry.

I think he was fed up of kids playing football right next to the council erected no ball games sign coming over and hitting his Avery scaring his birds.

I’ve never punctured a ball if one has come over but nor am I in any rush to give it back.

If my children wanted to play football we would take them to the field fortunately none of mine are football crazy, my neighbours have never had a ball over from us not even from our table tennis as it’s not hard to be careful about where you throw hit or kick a ball.

I get the occasional football in my backgarden from the lad next door. He always rings the bell to ask if he can come in the garden to retrieve it....no problem.

The most awful neighbour was a woman. Her daughter and my son were playing tennis in a nearby field. The ball got hit into some trees, they couldnt find it. They both went back to the girls house, and the mother grabbed my sons racket off him and told him she would be keeping it till he found the ball.🙄

He sounds terrible. I have quite a few balls in my garden over the years. I just throw them back. It makes life much more pleasant if you get on with your neighbours.

At the back we don't get balls as we are surrounded by people who are 70 and over (we are the youngest in our late 50s). However when the estate was built all the front gardens have to be open to the street, no hedges or fences facing the pavement. We put big planters by the pavement to stop people letting their dogs shit in our front garden and just leave it which has worked but it doesn't stop the kids from further up the road kicking their balls in and trampling my plants or whacking my car with their ball. It's annoying and I did once tell a boy not to walk on my plants... They've stopped now because they damaged my neighbours expensive vintage car and their parents were not pleased to be handed a bill. There is a park nearby with several football pitches and a really good assault course thing so they don't need to be on the road....

You shouldn’t put up with being unable to sit outside and enjoy your garden. They sound inconsiderate and ignorant. That’s not normal behaviour, it’s destructive and potentially harmful to you. Don’t suppose a polite letter would help, they sound like the type to do it more. Wish I could think of something that would help you.

Read the post by jinxed and you’ll understand !

What a dick. When my neighbour's children were younger after the first couple of times we just told them to come round and get it whenever and not to bother asking first. It's just a ball for goodness sake!