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Original poster

Someone PI**ED on my turf and more.....

22 replies

onlyhereonce · 24/03/2011 22:32

Hi,

Over the last few months we have had a few instances of somebody doing things to our garden and car.

1: Brake Fluid on the car (didnt strip the paint but took a month to get off)

2: Bunching leaves up against our back fence and setting fire to it and it burning a bit of our gate

This morning we got up and tried to put the bins out but couldnt push our back gate open. Turned out somebody put a load of soil and turf behind our gate.

Anyway our neighbours have 6 kids who are little rogues so we initially thought it was them. She came round tonight to say it wasnt them but it was her so called friend (lives 2 doors up from me) who has admitted he did it all AND pissed in a bottle and poured it over the new turf we put in the back garden when we went on holiday a few months ago (to try and kill the new turf) as he thinks we called the police on him for driving with no insurance or road tax.

We have called the police tonight as im fuming. My kids play on that grass and my little girl crawls on it sometimes. It makes me feel sick to think she has been crawling where his piss has been.

Am i entitled to take him to court and get him to pay for new turf to be put down and to get compensation off him? Am i likely to win? My next door neighbour who he told this all to tonight has said she would back us as he is always doing stupid things and she is fed up of him

Amy

OP posts:
lalalonglegs · 24/03/2011 23:11

He sounds like a nutter and, as he has already vandalised your property over several months based on nothing but a suspicion, I would think taking him to court will turn it into an absolute feud plus I honestly can't see any judge ordering damages because someone has weed on your lawn. You have involved the police - let them decide what to do and take their advice on your next step. If it were me, I would move.

Original poster
onlyhereonce · 24/03/2011 23:16

Moving isnt a cheap and easy thing to do. I have 3 young kids, 2 of which are happy in their school. Why should i uproot because some lowlife thinks hes a cut above. Why should i have to put up with grass that someone has urinated on?

Amy

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 24/03/2011 23:22

Well it might take you a while to calm down but birds and foxes shit and piss on your lawn, it all gets washed away.

It's not worth a court case. You won't get anywhere.

GypsyMoth · 24/03/2011 23:25

You won't get anywhere with this, for a start where is the proof??

Did it kill your turf?

Original poster
onlyhereonce · 24/03/2011 23:28

The proof is my next door neighbour who listened to him bragging about it tonight. Hes tried to burn our back gate down. What would have happened if it had really caught fire? The law is bad if it wont punish people who do these stupid things. Its smaller stuff like this that goes unnoticed that encourages people to go to bigger and badder things.

Amy

OP posts:
ThatVikRinA22 · 24/03/2011 23:29

what have the police said? i would see what they have said about it, at the very least they should have words and give him some "words of advice" - if he continues with his little campaign you should involve the police again, they could give him a warning (officially), what he is doing is classed as harassment at the very least, criminal damage if he has actually damaged the gate or your car permanently.

he sounds like a loon. let the police deal with him.

GypsyMoth · 24/03/2011 23:30

But you have no solid proof here.... A neighbour says so? Did she watch him and keep the bottle as evidence?

Your neighbour may have an axe to grind of her own and could be making it up! How would you prove or disprove that?

Original poster
onlyhereonce · 24/03/2011 23:32

I understand that i have no proof but there must be something that can be done to stop him. I will wait to see what the police say tomorrow.

Amy

OP posts:
ThatVikRinA22 · 24/03/2011 23:35

if its just hearsay and gossip....that would be difficult. sorry did not read the op properly.

if things are happening to your property on a regular basis though i would still talk to the police - they can arrange for the neighbourhood bobbies to speak to you and there are things that can be put in place to find out who is doing it.

break fluid on the car and setting fire to the gate are what id be bothered about not someone peeing on the grass....

what have the police actually said?

Collaborate · 24/03/2011 23:51

It might be hearsay but it's a confession and so admissible as such. I'd contact the police. they might be prepared to issue him a written warning under the protection from harassment act. Any further act constituting harassment after that will be an arrestable offence. You might have a job proving it though.

Could you get some cctv in?

iheartdusty · 25/03/2011 00:05

first step - see if there is a community mediation organisation in your area.

Better to end this early than let it escalate.

Original poster
onlyhereonce · 25/03/2011 07:56

Police came round at 10 past midnight!! Told them what has been going on and the police officer that came round was actually the one that pulled him over for no tax and insurance. She said she is going to find out if his house is a council house (ours is private rent but some of them here are council) and if so she will arrange to go round with the local housing officer to advise that if he carries on these kind of things then he will be in breach of his tenancy rules. Quite impressed at how quickly they came round and are offering to do something about it.

But.... to be caught twice in a week for driving with no tax or insurance i dont hold much hope out of him stopping silly things straight off so im arranging for CCTV to be installed by my brother in law today that constantly records on my computer.

Amy

OP posts:
GypsyMoth · 25/03/2011 08:22

She told you confidential information of his previous arrests??

CarrotsAreNotTheOnlyVegetables · 25/03/2011 08:52

Actually, setting fire to your fence is arson not just criminal damage, which is a much more serious offence. If the fire had spread people could have been killed.

Your neighbour actually heard him admitting what he did so it is not hearsay - she can make a statement that she heard him confessing.

Definitely get a camera installed and put a BIG sign up announcing that you have it to deter the nutter. We used CCTV to have a similar nutter put away for similar harassment.

If there are any more incidents and you record them on the camera INSIST her is charged, under the harassment legislation as well as with criminal damage. Under the harassment laws in extreme cases he can actually be imprisoned "at her majesty's pleasure" ie, indefinitely. Make sure the police use these laws properly. They sometimes try to fob you off as a case like this can take up a lot of their time to deal with properly.

In our case the perpetrator was mentally ill and was finally sectioned with an indefinite order, ie he could only be released with the permission of the home secretary. So it can be done.

Collaborate · 25/03/2011 09:14

Sorry to be a pedantic tw*t, but it is still hearsay. It's just that a confession is one of the admissible types of hearsay evidence. Hearsay is evidence of something not because you witnessed it, but because you heard someone say something about it - ie second hand evidence.

Carry on!

CarrotsAreNotTheOnlyVegetables · 25/03/2011 12:10

OK, so the main thing is that it is admissible evidence.

And CCTV pictures would be even better.

sneezecakesmum · 25/03/2011 14:51

We used to have a neighbour who went bonkers if we parked one of our cars outside his house - he thought he owned the road - he REALLY though he did as he paid half when they were laid by the builders and road building was part of the estate. For years he damaged our cars, ranted at us if we parked and damaged our plants. We put a CCTV camera hidden in a flower vase (make sure you dont invade your neighbours privacy) and caught the b*** ripping out our plants after leaning over the fence!
The police gave him a caution - after seeing the evidence he confessed - and he moved soon after! CCTV is brilliant!
Don't let this eejit get away with this, arson is very serious and it is up to the CPS to decide if the evidence is strong enough for a conviction, but there is nothing so good as a lovely picture!

Collaborate · 25/03/2011 15:16

Good God sneezy! You haven't half had your fair share of trouble!

CarrotsAreNotTheOnlyVegetables · 25/03/2011 16:33

I agree sneeze - CCTV is brilliant! You can't argue with it.

We got our camera and video hook up equipment from Homebase - cost less than £100 and the pictures were good enough to get our toerag put away for good.

sneezecakesmum · 25/03/2011 21:16

Collaborate - We got the better of the little creep in the end - revenge was sweet!

That doesn't make me a very nice person does it? Blush He was about 70!

Collaborate · 25/03/2011 23:04

Old enough to know better then. Being old doesn't entitle you to be rude.

CarrotsAreNotTheOnlyVegetables · 27/03/2011 16:39

Our toerag was also in his 70s. Didn't stop him smashing our windows with a hammer.

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