Please help me with hedging plants!

[WonderingWhy]

I hope someone can advise.
We need to plant a hedge that will grow pretty fast, ie maybe 5ft tall over the next couple of years?

Is there a plant that can do this - apart from the dreaded leyland cypresses?

Ideally it would be thick as well, and keep growing upwards...trouble is there isn't really a wall to support it, beyond about 2ft 6.

We are trying to block out the neighbours as they are not a desirable bunch

Also how many would I need to buy/plant, if the length is roughly 50ft?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Thought about escallonia but not sure how quick it would be?

Message withdrawn

Photinia is quite fast growing. You could have a mixed hedge so some would grow tall quickly but other bits would be more interesting. You can use current bushes, rugosa roses, holly etc. David austin have a section on their website for hedging roses.

Thanks for the links and suggestions, will have a look

A laurel will grow fast, give good coverage and enjoys being pruned.