Neighbour trespassed and hacked our hedge down

melanzana

Think OP might feel that the neighbours are "taking liberties" without consulting him/her. I can understand that, some neighbours can be awful. And there is a the phenomenon of the long time resident feeling superior or something. It happens.

However, in this case I don't think the neighbours intended to hurt or annoy you in any way, they just got secateur happy and then the panic set it.

They were wrong to encroach your hedge for sure, and equally wrong for not apologising to you.

Sometimes in life we have to just crack on and sort things out.

Least said, and soonest mended. BUT if they repeat their performance in any way, then is the time to gird your loins and have a word or two.

Just stick up a cheap trellis and leave it for now, but keep an eye out for further encroachments.

a.turner

Jadeelizabeth95 wrote: »

Excuse me?! If you're not going to be of any help why are you here?

I have already stated they have always been hostile towards us as soon as they saw us move in. Because we're young I don't know but all we do is work eat sleep and never cause any trouble or noise.

As stated I myself a 23 year old woman did not want to go round to their house ON MY OWN when they've already done something malicious to my property so they're already obviously in a foul mood. We are speaking with them tomorrow with the police. I am far too angry to consider going round tonight, I am off work because I am unwell and this obviously isn't helping things.

I've already received some helpful advice so thank you to those who have been helpful. To those judging me, put yourself in my shoes, take a look at the picture. We saved and scrimped for years to buy this house so sorry if I'm upset that someone would do such a thing to my property and cause something I don't have the money to fix right now. It's taken the garden away from my dog who has suddenly gone blind so is struggling on long walks but loves to chill outside. It's taken away my privacy after I spent days outside in the storm redoing the flower bed.

What outcome do you want from that?

You'll be in exactly the same position as you are now.

Jadeelizabeth95

I get why you think maybe they got a bit clipper happy but why not pop round and apologise in the hope that they would be saying sorry before we've seen it? That's what has hurt the most that ok maybe they did make a mistake but just apologise!

I'm not really sure how to go about the trellis situation, would I attach it to the hedge? Like on one of the main branches? ��

Fire_Fox

Jadeelizabeth95 wrote: »

There is no damage their garage or shed none of it was even in contact with it and if there was a problem that's up to them to trim the over hanging. The hedges have been here since the houses were built... We keep it shorter and tidier than the previous owners did. But thank you for making me feel like it's my fault they maliciously attacked my property, I'll make sure I go confront a angry man on my own next time ) for the record I'm 23 years old and on my own.

I am sorry you are annoyed by so much of the advice given. It is you that been defensive, impatient and even hostile with us.

People have tried to help you based on the information supplied in your first post. Obviously you were very upset but you omitted key information, such as the prior talk with the neighbour and the fact that he was angry. Then when you replied in post 7 you did not use the quote function or otherwise distinguished between our questions and your answers.

You are 23 and have grown up around mobile phones and computers. Some of us here are much slower to read and/ or much slower to compose and format a response because of a disability, or limited experience with technology, or with age. Look at the 'time stamp' on each post.

I hope the police are able to mediate successfully with your neighbour, and that you continue to enjoy your garden this Spring and Summer.

Jadeelizabeth95

Yes and they don't dare do it again. They can come apologize to me if it was a mistake but why should I pretend to be happy and skip on by? If they apologise I will cancel the appointment but they know we're both home now and nothing..

Norman_Castle

OP Use the quote button to respond to a post so your replies are easier to follow.


Did he cut the hedge that way because thats all he could reach after squeezing between the shed and garage? I would put some wire mesh fencing behind the hedge to prevent further access and refuse to trim the rest of the hedge.

melanzana

Jadeelizabeth95 wrote: »

Yes and they don't dare do it again. They can come apologize to me if it was a mistake but why should I pretend to be happy and skip on by? If they apologise I will cancel the appointment but they know we're both home now and nothing..

Just drop around to them yourself now (after a few deep breaths and smile in the mirror before you go round!. I bet they are mortified. But I don't know the full history.

Be pragmatic, and say, "look I know it happened, it looks dreadful, I am very sad that you did this, but mistakes happen. It won't happen again though will it? Just tell us if you want to do anything that impacts our boundary, that's all that's needed, and we will all get on like a house on fire"

Or something like that. You will get your answer from their response.

But you are right to keep an eye on them for future reference. Please do not escalate it into a full blown war at this stage though.

Honey works better than vinegar

Aylesbury_Duck

Jadeelizabeth95 wrote: »

Yes and they don't dare do it again. They can come apologize to me if it was a mistake but why should I pretend to be happy and skip on by? If they apologise I will cancel the appointment but they know we're both home now and nothing..

Why not? They did it this time and you stood by and did nothing. There's no point being "all hard" on here when in reality you're not. Calmly and assertively explain that you're not happy about it and that in future, they are not to damage your property beyond what they're entitled to do with foliage overhanging their garden.

No one is expecting you to be happy about the situation but if you want to be happy in your home in the long term, you need to put this into perspective and see it for what it is: a silly neighbour doing something silly. It doesn't need to spoil your enjoyment of your home and garden.

Jadeelizabeth95

Hi, I am using the quote button every time but unfortunately it's not doing anything to my textbox to change anything.

But thank you for showing me how instead of telling me I should know because I'm young ��

In response to the other responses. I am only giving what you're giving me. If you're going to try and blame me for what's happened of course I'm going to be hostile. I've had some very good advice, I am going to experiment with the trellis and wire fencing until we can afford to right their wrong. Funny old world aye, even when it's not your fault you've got to fix it.

Jadeelizabeth95

I know it "shouldn't spoil my enjoyment" but it does and has. I've never tried to come across"hard". I have a temper on me and that's about it but alongside that I suffer with anxiety so I'm sure you can understand why confronting someone when angry anyway is not ideal. At the end of the day, my gut feeling is that going round today would have made the situation worse. I have personally seen the woman going off in the street at people before so I know exactly what to expect!