Neighbour Problems!!

saterkey

we have kids next door and the ball comes over regularly, i will put them back over if and when i see them, but after the kid came by twice in a 10 mins slot to ask for it back, breaking my bell in the process i refuse to do it as soon as they ask. Often it means me stopping what im doing in the house to find the keys to open the back door to go down the garden put it over to come in lock the door and to carry on where i left off which is annoying, to have it happen again 10 mins later is very annoying.
I for one would not appreciate a ball in the face if i was sunbathing, plants being ruined etc so appreciate the neighbours points.
however kids will be kids and have two of my own, we have had our fair share of things going over, so we just stop games until it appears back in our garden a few days later.

dibuzz

When my kids were younger I had a rule that they weren't to ask for the ball back but had to wait until it was noticed and passed back over which could be straight away if the neighbours were in the garden or a couple of days if not.
This worked well until old woman on one side decided to cut the privets down, as her garden is lower than ours they only came up to my knees and gave us no privacy. She then started complaining about the kids' balls always being in her garden but we couldn't get her to see the connection. We ended up putting up a 6 foot fence because she wouldn't stop cutting them.
It's not always possible to take kids to the park even if there is one nearby and I don't see anything wrong with them playing in the garden but obviously teenagers are a different matter. Mine were banned from football in the garden from age 7/8 and if 2 balls went over even if it was into different gardens, then they had to stop playing.

Sapphire

It's very annoying if a kid throws stuff into your garden - after all, it is your own private property and you have a right to 'quiet enjoyment' of it, without having plants destroyed or getting a ball in your face. A friend's window was broken by a ball kicked by a child next door. Even if its parents were to pay for the damage, it's still a huge inconvenience to get it fixed, not to mention the fact that if it is an original old 'wavy' glass window it probably cannot be easily be replaced.

I think people should be more considerate of others. There are plenty of games their offspring can play in a garden other than ball games, which should ideally be played in a park.

mumto2loves

JingleJangle wrote: »

That would have annoyed the hell out of me if I had been your neighbour.

me too! it was embarrassing for me, which is why he soon learnt that if he kicked it over he didn't get it back straight away maybe not even any time that same day. he was 4 and soon understood, so an 7 year old should get the idea quicker. however i still think that if its just a couple of times in 11 months the old lady next door needs to chill a little bit.

welshmoneylover

Woody39 wrote: »

Help! We recently moved into a new house with a large garden. The problem is the old lady next door doesnt like my 7 year old playing football in our garden. She has even written us a letter asking us to take him to the park to play. The first time that the football was kicked into her garden I went and asked for it back and she refused to give it to me! We had words and she was most rude and insisted we stopped him from playing football. She said it was damaging her garden/flowers and she felt unsafe as the ball might hit her! I pointed out to her that my son was at school between 8.30 - 3.30 and he was in bed at 7.00. It left him little time to play in the garden considering the english weather and he doesn't always play football. I decided to log the times my son played and surprisingly it was only a couple of hours over a 2 week period. Anyway the odd ball has gone over in a period of 11 months and she wont give them back. We just keep replacing them. When we moved into the house the previous family had a teenager that played footabll and they had erected a net over the shared fence to stop there ball from going over. But the day we moved in she asked us to take it down as Bats were getting stuck , which we did. She is now saying that she is keeping the balls for evidence in court! What can I do to make her give the balls back. I have to listen to her dog barking but don't complain. Advise please

My advice is to take your son to the park or stop him kicking the ball over. I've had loads of plants ruined over the years by annoying little bratty kids and their ba$$$tard footballs.:mad:

dreavi

I'd just put the net back up if the footballs bother her that badly. if shes so concerned about bats then she can set up a bat Sanctuary in her garden

pararct

Some of the views in here are quite extreme and almost advocate putting down unruly kids who play ball games on their own (parents) property and are maybe a little noisy...
Put the fence/net/barrier back up to try and stop the ball going over if it does then write if off, don't expect it back.

Alternatively stop the kids going into the garden completely and request the lady next door keep her dogs quiet. If she does not collect evidence and report her to the EHO. Pursue until the dogs are removed.

Some people in this Country need to learn a little of give and take.

Happychappy

Kidnap her dog and hold it to ransom? tell her "Give me my balls back ; ) or the dog gets it !!!!"

Woody39

Thanks for all the advice. I must mention that there is a 3ft retaining wall with 1ft kickboard and a 6 ft fence Total 10ft between the properties (houses built on a sloping downward hill). Even though it is our boundry she put the fence up (before we moved in) so a trellis is not an option. Our garden is approx 100 ft x 60 ft and my son has a 12ft goal right in the middle along with other football training equipment. He is a serious player and plays for a local team. The balls that do go over are normally kicked over by adults who can resisit "having go". We do tell adults that balls are never returned and they will have to ask for it back! With regards to the net, yes it will be an eyesore but how do we erect it. She already asked us to remove the old one as it was also damaging her trees and interefering with the birds/bats. Her garden is no show piece and her dog tramples in her borders. I have already seeked legal advice and she has no right to keep the balls. In fact she is stealing them! My son doesnt kick the ball against the fence as he has a "football rebounder" and a football on a bit of elastic. Like I said he is a keen and talented player for a 7 year old. We are considerate people and just want to let our children play in the garden which is a safe environment. Our other neighbours are elderly and dont have any issues. They just threw it back when they see it in the garden, so we dont disturb them. I really cant win! Like I said my son is at school all day and in bed at 7.00. He doesn't play football everyday or for long periods of time in the garden. So in reality he has little time in the garden (weather pending) and she has all day.

puppy999

Well I would'nt like it if the football came over into my garden as it does damage plants, I would put something up to stop it from going over but cant he kick his ball from the bottom of your garden towards your house instead of sideways ?? and if a ball goes into your neighbours garden you have the right to keep it.
Mumto2loves....If you read the Dailmail it says Mrs Cole retrieved the £3.99 ball from land in front of her home in North Baddesley, Hampshire, and refused to give it back when the father of the three children came calling.......... The ball was not in her garden.