Help - unexpectedly illuminated !

Yes I agree that you should politely ask them to angle the lights to just cover their property. Our neighbours also had a bright light shining into our lounge, they had no idea it affected us and immediately changed the bulb to a lower watt and angled them down

There is some environmental law that says glare from security lights should not been seen through curtains neither lined nor blackout. Ask the neighbour to tilt the lights on to their own property. Why do they need 3 motion sensor lights? Usually only one is necessary. There is also a fashion of having lights installed in the eaves of houses, supposedly for security purposes. These usually come on in the evening and are on a night. People don't seem to realise that kind of lighting actually aids thieves by giving them constant light to survey a property then do a bit of thieving. Complete waste of money. At least a motion sensor light startles thieves and makes you aware of movement to check it out.

BlueBelle

Can’t you get curtains black out curtains even if they didn’t stop it completely it would be dimmed
There is an answer to every question

It's AN answer but not necessarily a good one. Why should she have to get curtains at all? (And who'd want them in a kitchen anyway? I'd hate them!)

@Infinity2 I had the same problem with my neighbours for years. If only I had researched it on t'internet sooner...

It turns out that there are many laws governing the height, angle and wattage of security lights on private housing. For example: folk are not allowed to have lights on all the time; they must be sensor ones, they cannot be set to illuminate above an angle of 70 degrees; there are rules governing the height at which they can be mounted; and they need to be environmentally compliant. Use gov.uk to research nuisance lights; ultimately, you can complain to the council.

I emailed my neighbours (after years of mentioning it and being told that they weren't that bright...), attaching a photo and pointing out the laws they were breaking. They were turned off that night! I've had 6 months of darkness - yippee!! And they must be saving a fortune in electricity bills!

I was fortunate. The neighbor behind us had a light installed shining into my kitchen windows. He was very reasonable when I explained the problem and remounted the light to cover the area from a different angle. I guess it's luck what neighbors you have. In the event yours don't care about you, then it's quite in order to plant a tall row of leylandii trees to block the light - hopefully his sunlight too ;)

My neighbour opposite installed a a very bright security light but it was circular and fixed in position. I looked on it as a saving, I rarely had to turn on lights in my front rooms and pulled the curtains if needed but unfortunately I had not realised that because the whole front of my house is painted white, it reflected the light across to the house opposite. They thought my house was floodlit till I explained it wasn't me it was the house next to them!

Esspee

Get a hitman to shoot them out.

Do you mean the lights, or the neighbours?

Quick & effective either way.

A guy local to me actually did shoot a shop burglar alarm that was going off at all hours, and had been for several days.
He landed in court.

I knew someone who had exactly the same problem.
Ask them to adjust the angle.

They probably have no idea that it is shining into your kitchen, just inform them, tell them the truth that you were surprised and a bit frightened, that you don' t want to put blinds up ( or you would have already done so). Ask if he can put it to rights this weekend.

I told my neighbours in a note to the back of us that once I cut down the shrubbery that their light kept me up all night. They turned if off. Lucky I suppose that they were considerate.

Our neighbours installed security lights which flooded over into our garden they did move the angle of the beams though

Daisydaisydaisy - a woman after my own heart !
Must confess my first thought after the shock of it, was to wonder where on earth I could get a catapult from ! The curse of modern life is that there are no decent shops any more. It’s not like the good old days where you could buy an air pistol from the same shop that sold your polo mints and a Corgi Hillman Minx.

Even if I’d managed to get the weapon I’d be exposed to retaliatory sniper fire if they were hiding behind Bugs Bunny. And I’m short so height wise the only way I’d get a clear shot would be to stand on top of Buddha’s head by the hebe which I’m physically incapable of nowadays. Not that I did it a lot when I could actually walk properly.
I’m going to take the responsible methods as recommended. Alas my younger self was quite quite different but that’s another story.

You ought to write a novel. This description was very funny. (But, I'm sure the lights are not!)

My neighbours have security motion lights which work to my advantage. In the dark of winter I do an inelegant leap at 'the' spot as I wend my way into my back garden. Hey presto my path is fully visible. Magic!

I think they should be shot at dusk

I have had this for a while with a neighbour in the street behind me, it's not on sensor though, and he left the light on all night one night last week. A polite note though the door seems to have done the trick - "either angle down into your garden please or remember to turn off at night". Illuminates the whole of the back of my house and my next door neighbour.

I had a similar problem (although not as extreme as yours, Infinity) with security lights on a school that backs onto my garden and the back of my house. I got in touch with the Head and they were ‘re-angled’ the same day..

However, 3 lights does seem a bit excessive - I wonder why they think that is necessary?

We have a security light that pops on and off too! Hate the darned thing but him indoors is reluctant to turn it off! (Is it a bloke thing I wonder?) We recently had a verandah fitted with lovely solar fairy lights so YES! The stalag 9 installation is now redundant!. I too prefer to strategically place my numerous full watering cans and other planters etc at the entrance to the back garden except to date there's only muggins here that's fallen foul of the booby traps in broad daylight too...but one day..... But on subject: ask them to re angle the lights 'please' if you ask in same manner as your post you'll probably have them rolling in the aisles!

politely explain the problem to them and ask if they could redirect the lights so they are not shining directly into your kitchen window and blinding you if they refuse contact your local council and explain to them i am sure the council could help as this is causing a nuisance to you also could be a health and safety hazard if you haooen to have soomething hot in your hands and lights come on and blind you. hope you get sorted with neighbours first though

Thank you for all your replies.

I’m going to send my niece round the next time she visits as I’m a bit of a coward and can’t deal with confrontation. Unfortunately I’m now the only geriatric in our road and it does put you at a disadvantage.

I’m not sure if these lights can actually be angled downwards as they seem to be just fixed.
The idea about the shower curtain pole gave me the idea that I could glue hooks above the kitchen window and put a blackout curtain on a rod if I cut it down.

You are all so helpful on here ❤️
I try to make a joke of things otherwise it’s easy to get overwhelmed by stuff.

Start by explaining the problem to your neighbours and inviting them over to see the problem for themselves.

If they are reasonable people, I am sure they will adjust their lamps.

If they don't, you will have to find out what the bye-laws in your area are regarding security lamps.

Unfortunately if you have to involve the local council or any other authority, it will probably cause some bad feeling with the neighbours involved.

There is no reason why you should put up with this, or have to invest in new blinds etc. to be able to live comfortably in your own house.

Do they need planning permission for such bright outdoor lights? Perhaps a phone call to your local council would give you the full facts. If they have been installed without any required permission then the council could take it up. If not then a polite chat with the owners to change their position/angle and install a blackout blind. There are some on the market that stay in place by extending pressure but they are no good for larger, heavy blinds. If your neighbour is not breaking any rules you may have to stump up to have a blind fitted. Any local handymen who could do that quite cheaply?

What the planning site says... if you are planning to install external lighting for security or other purposes, you should ensure the intensity and direction of light does not disturb others. Many people suffer extreme disturbance due to excessive or poorly-designed lighting.

Ensure beams are NOT pointed directly at windows of other houses. Security lights fitted with passive infra-red detectors (PIRs) and/or timing devices should be adjusted so that they minimise nuisance to neighbours and are set so that they are not triggered by traffic or pedestrians passing outside your property.

A neighbour might take you to court if you are negligent or cause nuisance.

We have the same problem - I feel your pain

Could you put up blackout curtains using the type of shower curtain rod that expands when you twist it or a spring curtain rod?Neither require nails or screws .I hate living in a fishbowl and use both type rods. My house is adobe brick and it's hard to hang anything with nails or screws.