To want to point out very loudly to the woman next door to my mum that..

[RunawayWife]

... my mother is not lazy

Mum lives in a council house in a bit of a dump bad area, the woman next door was nice when mum first moved in, always coming to borrow things and ask mum to baby sit, there has been no falling out between them.
Her kids have grown and now she no longer needs a baby sitter but now her son is forever at the door to "borrow" a fag.

Anyway the council are responsible for mums gardens, back and front, they come and cut them, however the hedge at the front is a bit over grown had a bit of a growth spurt (it is not a shared hedge and nothing at all to do with the woman next door). Two blokes from the council turn up today to cut the hedge and the bitch next door is out telling then how bloody lazy my mother is to let the hedge get so big...
Blokes (who had not been before) were agreeing... mum had the window open and over heard it all and was very very upset...

Now the thing is my mother is 66 and confined to a wheelchair as she is an amputee with one leg... Tell me how the hell she is meant to cut the bloody thing herself.

I do not live too close to my mum although I do get over to take her shopping and do other things for her, and cutting the hedge is low on my list of things to do the day I am there as shopping for food, Dr appointments, hospital visits all take president.

So AIBU to tell my mothers neighbour that if she is so fucking worried by the hedge cut it herself, but do not stand out side my mothers house calling her lazy, because she is not. I am so bloody angry.

YADNBU

But I'd be careful - she sounds quite vicious.

YANBU!

Your poor mum, you must be furious.
How dare neighbour, the shite.

You could probably make a complaint to the council too, their employees should not be gossiping with the neighbours anyhoo.

On your mum, and your behalf.

You say the area is a bad one, maybe she feels self conscious about the garden next door. Is hers kept well?
How bad was your mums hedge really? Can no-one else cut the hedge for her regularly? My mum pays for a gardener for my gran so she can do the nice things in the garden like water the flowers but not the boring jobs liking trimming the trees and cutting grass.

anyway Not anyhoo.

Not nice for your mum and agree that they shouldn't have been talking about her. Probably just small talk though?

If hers is well kept, and she feels self conscious about it, there's nothing to stop her doing a good turn and cutting RW's mums as well, surely?

No excuse for nasty bad mouthing.

Your poor mum. She must feel really embarrassed. We had this with my Grandmother, her neighbours came round and complained to her face that she needed to mow the lawn more because it was spoiling the look of the village. The council are responsible for my grandmother's garden, and she is bloody 82 and is an amputee with no ruddy legs! She is in a wheelchair ffs! I was fuming.

complain to the council - their employees are obligated to behave with a degree of professionalism. Get a letter of apology then drop a copy in next door. Witch!

horrible neighbour.

if my neighbour was confined to a wheelchair and i noticed her garden getting a bit overgrown i would offer to help her out with it. i would NEVER stand outside her house telling starngers she was lazy, and how the hell could those council workers agree? either they have never met your mother and dont know she is in a wheelcahir or they have and are just complete tossers.

on your mum's behalf

yanbu

Complain to the council, the workers shouldnt have been gossiping with the neighbour in the first place. But the attitude of the neighbour is shocking.

I'd go the other way and be OVERLY nice to the bitch of a neighbour and knock on her door and say that although you try to do as much for your Mum as possible there isn't always time to do everything so would she mind being just a little more supportive, "Oh you know just the odd thing, look out for her and maybe trim the hedge if it gets a bit overgrown and the blasted council take an age to come and do their job - you know that sort of thing!!"
Watch her face

What a cow. Go with Munchkinland's idea x

The council guys probably meet quite a few, er, odd folk round and about, and find it easier to agree with them rather than starting them off on one...

YANBU but she is a witch and needs to get a life.

I would write to the council to.

YANBU. Poor Wifey'smum

i was going to suggest Munckin's idea too - surely it's time for her (the neighbour) to pay back for the babysitting etc. And if it upsets her then maybe she could be neighbourly and help out.

God - what a cow. I'd be making sure I couldn't answer the door whenever she or her DS come round again, that's for sure - but the council workers should not have agreed with her.
Still, they're not employed for their vast intellect and understanding of the fact that open windows mean people inside can hear, and being in a wheelchair is not an automatic indication of deafness!

If your mum has babysat and helped this woman out so much in the past, why doesn't she offer to help your mum out with her hedge if it bothers her so much? Or her son (who keeps knocking on your mum's door asking for cigarettes) could help out surely. How rude.

Great minds Beasknees

Oh for goodness sake , if your mum is an amputee in a wheelchair nobody in their right mind would expect her to cut her hedge.Th workmen were just 'taking the line of least resistence' and trying to be polite to the neighbour.they would have just wanted her to feck off so they could get on.It not their job to defend your mum.In any case they were probably contractors and not even employed by the council.

Thank you everyone Sorry to post and run before but I had to get to work.

I am going to report the council workers, and I will be having a word with the bitch woman.

Her garden is not exactly the Chelsea flower show, it is a patch of gravel with intermittent weeds.

I would be happy to pay for someone to cut mums hedge but the council come regually and do it, it was not exactly day of the triffids .

I don't know why the woman is being so nasty, earlier in the week she blocked mums path with bin bags (dustman day) but mum need clear access for the wheelchair and bags dumped at the end of the ramp is a no no.
Since mum went home from hospital this woman has not ever knocked once to see if mum was ok or needed anything, the only time she knocks is to scrounge things.

I have a lady of 90 next door to me and I clear her path if it snows, and knock on the door if I have not seen/heard her for a day or so (she is totally deaf so we here the TV the whole time)
And I called her son when she had a fall, it is what neighbours do and what I was raised to believe was the right way to treat someone

Is it possible she was only being polite to your mum when she was fit enough to do stuff for her and now she can't, she's taking it a personal affront? Silly cow if she is.

No idea?

But I can assure you she will not be calling my mother names again once I have slapped her silly had a word

I'm not sure if you should report the council workers. As someone said above, when confronted by a nutty woman, sometimes it's easiest to go "Oh yes, oh right, yes you're right" a few times. Not sure about that.
I would however knock on the woman's door and ask to have a chat with her.