nasty old man next door :-(

Person_one

jenhug wrote: »

I would play him at his own game, go and have a picnic in his garden.

Oh no, he sounds like just the type to live to 105 through sheer bloody mindedness!

Mojisola

FatVonD wrote: »

If your garden was very overgrown is there a possibility that you have ground elder and that's what he's worried about?

And does seeing ground elder in a neighbour's garden give someone the right to behave like this man has?

I wonder what he would be allowed to do if he saw Japanese Knotweed!:eek:

mrcow

You need to get the fence up on your side.

Expensive it may be, but it needs to be a priority or this guy is going to drive you crazy. Get it sturdy and get it high.

yorkshire_terrier_owner

If it was me, I would quite obviously go around the garden taking detailed photographs. Make it obvious what you are doing. You are taking photos of your own garden so not doing anything wrong, but by making it obvious you make it clear you have it all documented should he cut down/damage anything. I would also swallow the cost of a fence - as high as possible. To be bloody minded, I would have it put up a few inches within the boundary so he can't say you interfered with his boundary line. I would then put that stuff along the top that is designed to stop cats climbing your fences or some extra trellis.

Then I'd put some voiles up at the windows. Cheap but stop his vision in. Keep a note book and pen handy, and he next time he or his wife are abusive, don't say anything, just write it all down in front of them.

He says he has records - well 2 can play at that game.

He doesn't sound the type to listen to reason. In doing the above, you are doing nothing wrong, but making it clear that you are not tolerating his behaviour.

You could also add a nice big CCTV camera (doesn't have to be real) at the back of your house!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAKE-DUMMY-CCTV-BLACK-SECURITY-CAMERA-FLASHING-LED-INDOOR-OUTDOOR-SURVEILLANCE-/251400456816?pt=UK_CCTV&var=&hash=item3a88a28a70

Don't forget to put up a sign as well re CCTV!

RobotsinDisguse

Yugh. This sounds horrid. His behaviour is unacceptable.

I can't advise re legal etc, there's some great advice already posted, but if funds are tight re putting up a fence, try getting creative.

Does your local council tip sell useable things? I've seen fence panels & trellace panels being sold for very cheap. Also old doors.. You could even rig up some tarpaulins! Anything to block his view in to your place. If he complains, simply reply its temporary till he repairs his fence.

Or try asking on freegle/free cycle/ Facebook buying/selling pages.

maggy50

My sister had much the same issues with her elderly neighbour who was suffering dementia .

He outwardly seemed ok when they first met on introducing themselves as new neighbours.

It was not until after he passed away that his family told my sister about his declining mental health .

By then police, solicitors letters , diary of events etc had been the result of his behaviour and all this could have been avoided if the family had not been honest and pointed out the problem.

Gold_Dust_2

Any chance you could set up a camera? Maybe a webcam linked to a laptop, and record the stuff on there and shift it all to an external hard disk ? Catch him at it. I'd be livid if someone was invading my personal space like that. The fact that he keeps records is also quite disturbing, bordering on stalkerish.

krazyburd23

Wow, so many replies, thank you :-)

Atrix – I really like the idea of sending him a letter, I will put something together over the weekend. Will check out the legislations and make it very clear to him what is and what isn’t acceptable. Silly question, but should I send it special delivery or just put it through his letterbox?

Marisco – Unfortunately we never got to meet the previous owners. My understanding from the estate agents was that the lady who lived here had cancer and sadly died and then the husband didn’t want to stay here without her so moved on. There was no mention of any disputes on any of the paperwork we received. They probably just ignored him and as the fence was there he didn’t get the opportunities to invade their space so much. I am kicking myself now, I really should have made more effort to find out who was there. I naively thought I wouldn’t care who lived there as I am very thick skinned and can easily ignore people that I don’t like without giving it a second thought. Our other neighbours are very nice, funny enough one of them is a fencer :-)

GobbledyGook – I wish I knew a local bobby, we don’t really have them down our street, but if I spot one close enough I’ll certainly ask if he would have a word with him.

FatVon – If I had the money the fence would already be up L As soon as I can get the funds together I’ll be on it, that’s for sure and it’ll be max height that I can get away with J

I was fuming when he shouted at my mum and gutted that I wasn’t there to stick up for her. If I was there I’d have told him what for but it didn’t feel right knocking on his door and having a go at him. I really wanted to but held off because he is old, I didn’t want him to feel intimidated or threatened in his own home. I did bring it up when I confronted him about his handyman being in the garden.

I am not sure what ground elder is? When I say the garden was overgrown, it wasn’t as bad as it probably sounds. We have a lawn down the centre which is all nice and lovely, one side (not his side) had an old flower bed that was full of weeds, they were about a foot high (if that) by the time we got in but I cleared them all in the summer (they are growing back now though – annoying lol). Down his side, its literally a couple of biggish shrubs, a pear tree and old tree (the one he cut). Where the previous owners had dug the foundations for the workshop we think they chucked the topsoil under the shrubs and therefore all the grass/weedy bits are all along underneath everything. I had completely weeded and planted flowers in one big section and got the weeds out of the other section (again they are growing back again now). Right at the end is a raised flower bed which contains some bushy plant things, a few flowers and again more weeds, the foxes actually sleep on it so it’s pretty flat. There is some ivy growing up the fence but I actually think it’s in his garden. I had a few shoots coming out of my flower beds so I chopped them off and pulled off anything I could easily get off the fence without damaging it, this was months ago and its still alive and kicking? Also the fence on the other side of his garden I noticed the other day is also covered in it.

I think the problem with our garden is he just doesn’t like it, its not to his personal taste and he is unable to appreciate other people have their own ideas that might not be the same as his. His garden is full of random paved areas, mini walls, loads of potted trees/bushes, random benches and buildings, it’s not what I would call a garden, there is no lawn or anything pretty/nice in there.

krlyr

Some fab advice re. his behaviour. My nan's friend has an ongoing dispute with her neighbour, and it sounds like it really grinds her down at times. Thankfully ours have been fine!

Have a look into cheaper alternatives to fencing. We had to extend the height of the neighbours fence because of our dogs - they said we could replace the 4' panels for 6', but as they'd want them to match, they'd cost a bit (they apparently paid £80 a panel for the 6' ones they've got!). For now, we've just bought a few rolls of split bamboo screening which is attached to the fence (neighbour was fine with us attaching it - but my alternative cheapskate plan was to just use some fence posts or tree stakes and lengths of wood or garden wire between them.

Screening would give you some privacy, keep your plants contained a bit, and also gives you some leverage for him to maintain his fence - if it falls, it may damage your property, and you could then persue him for damages.

GobbledyGook

If you google "Community policing yourtown" you should get an idea if your area has a community bobby.

You could ring them for advice to begin with if you are worried it seems trivial, but generally they don't mind contact for things like that. They'd rather try and nip something in the bud now than when something bigger happens.