Neighbour using my garden as storage

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd also cut those chains in these circumstances (or, to be more accurate - as I couldnt literally do that myself - I'd get someone to do it for me).

It does sound to me as if they are just "walking over" OP and some neighbours do have to be stood up to firmly (voice of experience time).

To me the best way to deal with awkward neighbours is to know the law as well as one can/firmly keep them out of your garden - whilst every word you say to them is as "white as white" and every gesture ditto as far as possible. Followed by removing/blocking them any time they try to use your garden in any way.

I don't understand why some people will persistently try and use other peoples gardens - but there are ones that do...so one just has to deal with them.

JP1978

+4 - I would cut the chains.... but first, in the unlikely event the neighbour pursued a legal avenue* I would over a period of two or three weeks, take pictures of all the rubbish (date stamp them) and make some notes.

Then cut the chains and take every last drop back to their property and leave it there. I would do that the day before collection day.

*OP is obviously worried about any legal redress that neighbour takes against him for cutting the chains - and by the looks of other responses, there isnt much legal redress that the OP has - the neighbour would be in a similar situation - can you imagine them going to court.....


"Well its like this your honour, I have been using my neightbours garden to store my bins, and have been leaving bags of rubbish there as well because I dont want it on my land. The defendant kept bringing it back to my land - I cant understand why, so I thought I would padlock it to HIS fence. But you see, your honour, hes had the cheek to cut my padlock off and return the bins to my land" . I think its only right that he should pay for the padlock and chain...."

Davesnave

Very few people take others to court, and certainly not for something so minor as a cut chain.

Yes there is a small claims procedure, but the magistrates take a very dim view of people using it as a first resort, or trivially, and they respond accordingly.

Ant555

Davesnave wrote: »

So would I, but the OP doesn't sound as if they want to put up that level of resistance, so we have been looking at alternatives.

Correct - the OP has said he is in a wheelchair so just getting to the bins could be an issue.

Lets hope he posts back with any progress.

Biggles

The simple answer (if you're able) is to revert to chucking their rubbish back over the fence into their garden every time it appears, as suggested in posts 17 & 29. It also avoids escalating the problem with letters/legal action/council complaints etc.

If throwing it into your garden gains them nothing, plus the fact they have to unlock the bins to let the council empty them, they may give up the game as being more trouble than it's worth.

HarryMonkee

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I am talking it over with my wife to see how we want to go from here. I will keep you posted.

parking_question_chap

Annie1960 wrote: »

The way to get a definitive answer on this is for the OP to contact the council.

No it isnt.

This is a civil matter on private land. The council are not obliged, and indeed should not provide legal advice in such instances.

Annie1960

parking_question_chap wrote: »

No it isnt.

This is a civil matter on private land. The council are not obliged, and indeed should not provide legal advice in such instances.

Well then, if this is correct, the OP will have a definitive answer that the council is not a relevant route.

I did not suggest the council should provide legal advice, only that they could clarify whether or not they would regard it as fly tipping, and whether they would act.

Davesnave

parking_question_chap wrote: »

No it isnt.

This is a civil matter on private land.

Fly tipping is a criminal offence, not a civil one.

A farmer across the valley from me was fined £6k for tipping rubbish on his own land. Obviously, the amounts were large, but the principle is the same.

When someone fly tipped in my field, I rang the police. They didn't tell me that it was nothing to do with them; they gave me a crime number and I gave them the ID of the person the rubbish originally belonged to.

There's more, but the story isn't relevant, just the context.

AndyMc.....

Davesnave wrote: »

Fly tipping is a criminal offence, not a civil one.

A farmer across the valley from me was fined £6k for tipping rubbish on his own land. Obviously, the amounts were large, but the principle is the same.

When someone fly tipped in my field, I rang the police. They didn't tell me that it was nothing to do with them; they gave me a crime number and I gave them the ID of the person the rubbish originally belonged to.

There's more, but the story isn't relevant, just the context.

Yes it is, but this sounds like a civil dispute rather than a criminal offence.