Neighbour cutting branches off our tree which are in OUR garden

[Willo776]

We have a tree near our fence and some of the canopy overhangs into our neighbour's garden. Neighbour told us they were going to be trimming the overhanging branches - no problem at all obviously.

We came home last night to find that they'd basically pollarded 90% of the tree including most of the branches which clearly overhang into in our garden. The tree looks ridiculous and we're so angry that they've essentially destroyed our property.

Is this illegal? Obviously too late to do anything now, but it would be good to know.

Is there any way for them to rectify the situation? I would imagine you could take legal advice to try to get them to remedy the situation, since they have trespassed on your land and caused damage, but you would need to weigh up what you hoped to achieve versus the cost of the solicitor.

I don’t think they can come into your property without permission. I would be going round and having a word so it doesn’t happen again. Tree will eventually recover ( hopefully!)

In the absence of a Tree Preservation Order, they were entitled to trim the branches back to the boundary. If they have trimmed branches that were entirely on your side of the boundary, you may have a claim against them. Whether it is worth pursuing that claim is another matter. If you want to take it further, you need to consult a solicitor.

Thanks everyone. We're not going to getba solicitor involved, we want to move (partly because of said neighbours) so don't want to have to declare a dispute. Just so angrybat the principle of it.