Footballs over the fence

A minor irritation but I would have swapped that for the issues I had with a previous neighbour many years ago who was a drunk, threw his (multiple) beer cans into the garden, swore at me, shouted and screamed through the night, banging on the walls to annoy me...yes, I'd take the footballs in exchange for that.

When we had a family of three kids living next door ….. balls…. arrows….. toys….. teddies all got thrown into our garden. After endless retrieving jobs on my part I told all of them that the back gate was open and to help themselves . They did…. peace!

Don't go out and offer the balls back, and pretend you are not in and don't answer the door if they knock to ask for them. Make them wait some time (days) for their balls back and they may be more careful. Can but hope!

I used to pass them back with comments like.. you'll never make the squad/team with misses like that!
The balls stopped coming over! ?

Im mobility impaired so I am not going to run after whiney neighbours and their over entitled grandkids. If balls come over they get thrown out into the street (for any kids who want them and get to them first) by my nephew on one of his twice weekly visits.

We have boys next door 17 and 15 they have a GOAL net in the front garden and a huge grassed back garden they never use because three of their fences are low.
When DH saw them climbing over the dry stone wall to retrieve the ball he went out and told them to come round and carefully get it, no need to knock. The ball very rarely comes over the wall now I think part of the fun was climbing the wall without us seeing.
Not all children or teenagers are innocent I've worked with them too many years to believe that. Put a high net up it's your garden and you have the right to sit in it in peace and quiet.

I have the kids next door to me play football in their garden every day and the ball comes 9ver our fence most times...Happily throw the ball back....Dont see the problem....My children did the same and my neighbour was always moaning..

We just throw them back. They are good kids and are just using the garden as children do.

Our neighbours GC regularly come round and play football in their big garden.They are not keen gardeners and have just an enormous lawn and very few plants. We however have spent a lot of time and money on our borders and veg plot and our garden is my main hobby.I never mind them coming around for balls as they are pleasant and polite children.In fact we've now said don't keep asking just come and get it.Or I lob over any balls I fund. Before long our GCs will be their age .
However even I got a bit fed up earlier this summer when the whole family moved in for a few weeks whilst between houses and it was every evening and several balls each time thudding over into the flowers.Plus a lot more shouting than usual.However their Grandparents are lovely neighbours otherwise and it's not worth falling out over one battered clematis that will recover.

We had a terrifying neighbour when I was small. We had a big garden but balls would go sailing over the fence into her garden. We would wait until she was out and climb over the fence to get the ball back. Strangely, she was my step grandfather’s widowed sister in law. My mum, who was a nurse, nursed her through her final illness.

Young people I can manage but 15 year olds are another kettle of fish. We have spates of little people's balls sailing over our fence but we do throw them back if we're around or they pop round to ask for them - and are very polite which is nice.

Everyone is entitled to enjoy their own garden.

Some take a lot of time and trouble planting flowers and shrubs etc.

Others like to sit out and eat or drink.

The odd ball coming over because young children are playing with a ball is not a problem. A 15 year-old relentlessly kicking a ball against an adjoining fence IS a problem. It's quite simply anti-social behaviour. Footballs are kicked hard, and high - he should take himself off to the park.

"He likes football". Not a justification for such inconsiderate behaviour.

I doubt anyone would enjoy footballs being kicked, full force at their fence.
It's like relentless torture, and the force used by a teen is so much more than a little tot would use.

I used to have a goal post kindly painted on the outside wall of my flat so that local teams could gather and play a lovely game against it.

Wow some posters are very grumpy! In the grand scheme of things it’s not really a big deal is it! ? given they are at school/college for a fair part of the day as well..

So, if an angry, abusive, violent child is kicking a heavy ball in to my garden 6 times a day, and destroying my garden and potentially injuring babies playing in my garden, this is just fine, and I should smile and throw his weapons back in the hope of a bar of chocolate? Really?

Mostly we want to be friendly.
But if you live next to a really "bad case" it is draining and sadly, rather grim.

I rather enjoy the opportunity to hear the sounds like my own kids made years ago. Returning a ball or several balls gives me exercise and a chance to let kids interact with older people. Hopefully they come to see me as a friend in an older body and not a grumpy old coot.

I was sat at the kitchen table last Xmas, writing cards. A very, very loud thump on the patio doors, the football from next door. We can't sit on our decking, as balls keep coming over, hitting goodness knows what. Parents told, it goes quiet for a while and then starts up again. I cant want until the kids are ALL back in school. I would love some peace and quiet and ability to go outside without looking out for flying objects.

It was a fence. We had children and a dog .They were not allowed to bother neighbours with balls and toys going into their gardens.

Send them back sailing over the fence but don’t be too particular about aiming them maybe ? Crash goes the greenhouse…ooops.

Neilspurgeon0

Oh get a life, kids are not young and fancy free for very long, Chuck the balls back and have a joke with them about improving their dribbling skills, now they are too big for a bib! Kids actually love a bit of banter from a jokey adult.

No you get a life. I bet you do not have to suffer the horror of selfish kids and parents. People are entitled to sit in their gardens without the danger of being hit by footballs. Lazy couldn’t care less parents. I always took my children over the local park. Neighbours near me have installed a swimming pool and the noise is horrendous, one child has been screeching and screaming for years. Bring on the cold and rain. The absolute hell of a brat constantly kicking a ball against a fence, luckily not mine but a neighbours. No I wouldn’t throw them back, why should I.

I bet you non throwing balls back netters all have dogs ?

nipsmum

I wish balls were my only problem. We spent a good deal of money building a six foot high ranch style fence round the whole garden. The children next door climbed it so often it became a hazard. Did their parents offer to pay for the damage. No they didn't. They can ignored it completely.

Jesus Christ are you serious? 6 foot wall. Bloody hell. Thank God Wayne Rooney never had you as his neighbours. Neigh being operative word ffs

Pippa22

Reading some of these replies make me feel really sad. No wonder old people get called names. We are talking about footballs coming into our gardens and some people are really, really mean. Keeping balls until the kids come and ask for them ? Only throwing back occasionally ? Puncturing them ? How horrible some of you are.
I think it’s a small price to pay having balls arrive to have families around, perhaps some of you should live in a field or an old folks home ! Could complain about clicking knitting needles then or drumming fingers .

That's a very unfair post. Are you saying people should be coming out every couple of minutes to lob a football back over the wall when a game is going on next door?

Cheerfully throwing balls back over the fence when you come across them, tolerating a couple of knocks on the door during the day looking for balls back and requesting that kids don't trample across your flower beds to retrieve balls seems fair to me.

Kids constantly pestering neighbours to throw their balls back or wrecking planted flowers as they jump over walls to retrieve them are annoying brats.

I had neighbours for 15 years, who have now moved (thankfully!), who had two boys who just didn't get on.

They constantly threw things over my fence to deprive each other of possession. These included a metal letterbox, several house bricks, many toys, including a trike, a scooter and their little sister's dolls pram. I did not throw any of them back (too dangerous), but collected them up on a weekly basis and left them by their back gate, only to have them thrown over again. I tried confiscating them but they would just yell and yell over the fence, or try to batter down my back gate to get to them.

It was not safe to sit in the garden, the damage to plants was total and, although the parents shouted and screamed at them not to do it, it made no difference. I was so relieved when they moved.