Neighbours from Hell

It sounds as though this neighbour is a nightmare for you and other nearby residents. He is a bully and his behaviour is not only intimidating, upsetting, offensive and damn right nasty, but dangerous - if he can punch an 81-year-old and give him a black eye, then he is clearly ready to use violence and needs to be arrested for assault. He has spent years trying to control other neighbours, obviously thinks everything should be done his way or the high way, as such, and doesn't care who he upsets. Follow the legal channels and demand the police support and protect you - build the needed evidence and prosecute. It sounds as though your family have enough to cope with without having to be afraid in and around your own home. I hope the operation helps your daughter with her seizures and that your family soon get some peace and quiet - life is hard enough. I'm sure many of us on Gransnet will at least offer moral support and/or helpful advice when asked. I have experience of living with 'neighbours from hell' (4 and a half years at one address, and just over a year at another) so know how it can affect every area of your life - I hope it can somehow be resolved for you.

Perhaps they look out onto your car. I wouldn't like this and would probably mention it. I'd take a look how your parking impacts on your neighbours. Should it not do then i'm not sure why they are so irritated. Considering good relations with neighbours are important i'd cut back hedge.

Don't start me off about neighbors. We have lived in our property for over four years, it's a semi detached. Our old neighbor passed away at Christmas so in January we got new neighbors. They put up a fence without even mentioning it to us (open plan gardens) They have a dog that is continuously barking and growls every time we go out of our door and to top it off the front communal lawn has an oval shaped flower bed right in the centre where daffodils shoot up from every Spring. Well the new neighbor decided to cut his front lawn and also chopped down his half of the flower bed, daffodils et al. I saw this as provocative. I appreciate that it is his side of the garden but why would someone do that? The flower bed is shared. We haven't said anything yet but it's simmering away slowly. As far as the parking problem, I agree with what everyone else has said.

It's no wonder that so many people pave over their front gardens and pay for a dropped kerb, something i previously hated but can now understand why. Trouble with too many dropped kerbs is that there becomes less and less space for other cars and visitors to park.

I’m going through the same thing Swolleneyes, neighbours moaning because I parked outside their house. No parking restrictions at all. I have a Disability and can’t walk far and parked there as his friends had parked outside my house.

I know it is not my bay and I’m happy for anyone to park there. But I need to park somewhere.

I’ve had notes taped to my car with brown tape, causing damage. My daughters had notes attached to her car too. We’ve been accosted in the steeet, intimidated and threatened. I’ve had his family banging on my door gone 11pm, screaming that it’s their space and that I’m causing a problem. I learnt to say nothing but keep walking while they’re screaming obscenities at me and my daughter.

Sadly, i am very stubborn and will not be put off by them.

I’ve reported to the HA and the Police twice, first in 2015 when my HA visited them and I got an email stating there will be no more trouble over parking.

The next day, I sat in my car outside my own house, and videoed the neighbour dumping black bags of rubbish on my doorstep. An hour later he returned and said ‘My son told me to move the rubbish!’ Again I said nothing although inside I was raging.

Last week it started again. I’ve reported to Police and HA who have again visited him. A letter has gone out to the whole street saying parking is first come first served and no bay belongs to anyone. The HA officer is now on holiday so I await the outcome after she visited them again.

We’ve had the neighbours shouting and being rude to us since. Everything is being recorded now. It causes me and my daughter so much anxiety, and stress.

I’m hoping to move this year, had enough of petty, small minded neighbours who cause problems and can’t wait to get away!

Good luck with it all, I hope it gets sorted sooner rather than later. I’d add cctv cameras if I could afford it. At present we just record on our phones and add the recordings to a folder of evidence we are collecting.

So sorry to hear of your plight swollen. Hope the police can help. We had a very mild version of this at our last house, but the difference was that the neighbour had right of access over our property. He kept parking farm machinery on it and damaging our wall, fence & garden. My OH had early dementia and was not able to deal with it when I was not in. It was awful! Eventually, I and another neighbour, read him the Riot Act, which worked to an extent. I have to say that we think this man also had dementia.

Awww jist say to them .. my bush is my buisness ... that will ruffle the feathers
Lol

Try to ride it and if it gets too bad stand your ground and ifnthat fails do what my husband would do ....( no i don’t condone what he and his family would do lol ) tell them in no uncertain terms to ...whatsname OFF
Honestly that is sometimes the only way to do it ..... people will start on people when new ... pathetic cretins ..

First you need to cut your hedge back. When we moved to our house the hedge had grown halfway across the pavement. We were told on no uncertain terms to cut it. We did so, as we could see the problem. Once it's cut you should park where you're meant to. Why are you winding up your neighbours?

Speak to the HA about the hedge. If you lived in an adopted road you would be forced by law to cut it back to the same level as the other properties. It sounds as if, even though you trim it, it is a nuisance overhanging by a metre. Perhaps the HA will allow it to be taken out and a new fence installed. As for the neighbour, just do as the police say and log everything. I’ve had the neighbours from hell, so I sympathise. We moved house and realise how stressful it was now we have good neighbours.

You shouls have told the whole story in op then it would have been better understood. I suspected something not right as soon as you said he parked two old cars there, which seemed stupid and worse than your one being there. I always think these neighbours from hell have some sort of mental issues going on, lead such a lonely boring life and strife with neighbours is better than no interaction at all. Shame he cannot see it is better to be nice and be a respected member of his community. One wonders why the old guy did not report him for the bruised eye.

For goodness sake just cut back the hedge and park where you should be! It's not wirth falling out with yoyr new neighbours about

Each time you post, you add something else to the crimes of this man and your own troubles. It is like a snowball.

You say that if you parked on your side of the road "I would be parking almost in the middle of the road as our hedge sticks out at least an extra metre from the fencing others have." There has been a thread on Gransnet very recently about wide hedges - maybe you have read it?

It sounds to me as though even if you "keep it neatly trimmed" it has spread a long way out - the road is a metre narrower at your house than it is at any of your neighbours. That can't be a good thing, either for cars or for anyone walking along the side of the road. Have you considered that perhaps you are not such a perfect neighbour yourself?

If you cut the hedge back to the same level as the fences, you could park outside your own gate, stop all this aggro and not have to keep crossing the road. Plus you would earn yourself some good points with all the neighbours.

I don't think so..Where we live there a very few HA homes as every property is now privately owned so we are in the minority..He keeps using this fact as ammunition.."We're gonna get you thrown out of there"..So meeting today with our HA and hopefully some sound advice..

Oh Swolleneyes that is terrible and I really hope the Police can do something about that man. I hope that man with the black eye can be persuaded to join forces with you in an official complaint. Now that we have a bigger picture it is clearly nothing you have or have not done at all. I am not familiar with these things but if it is a tenanted property can't the landlord do something to evict him out since he is violent and abusive?

Thankyou MOnica..we will keep persevering and do everything completely within the law..It is such a shame that someone has taken it upon themselves to behave in this truely awful manner..I do belive in Karma and lets hope it decides to work quickly in this case..I will keep you all up to speed as to when he finally charged with this terrible hate crime..

swolleneyes, yes, this is the neighbour from hell. If he wasn't complaining about your parking he would find something else to complain about.

CCTV is clearly the answer, especially if he is sitting outside the house and staring in. That in itself is intimidating behaviour.

It is clear that he has been intimidating his neighbours for years and just wants to add you to the list. I am just amazed that no-one has done anything about it so far and that you are the first to complain.

I don't think so tanith..It all began when he demanded my husband to park on the other side of the road..Do as you're told or else!! An elderly neighbour happened to be walking his dog when we were showing the police where about he lived as we didn't even know..He had a blackeye and told us he was 81..Good luck with it he said..He's been intimidating me for over 10 years and nothing has ever been done about it.. Police asked where he got the bruise from..Oh it was him was his reply..

I am just so tired..I love our new home but this is becoming a nightmare for us all..It is a constant daily event of abuse,intimidation and harressment..We are also going through a SGO process for my grandson..and our daughter has just had a major operation to hopefully help with her seizures today..

Is it possible your neighbour could have some form of dementia? He does have some unusual behaviour.

Thankyou MOnica..our inherited hedge is not over grown we keep it neatly trimmed..there are no pavements or kerbs..We have been told to have cctv installed to gather as much evidence for the police..to keep logs and to take photos/videos..He keeps sitting outside our home just staring into our front window..He is also quite elderly..And shouts things at us constantly..

Swolleneyes That is appalling, I am glad you have been to the police and that they are taking it seriously. Disability hate crime can take many forms. Last year I was involved with a case through a charity I work with, where someone was being bullied and intimidated because of his disability.

If the complainer cannot even see your car when parked and it isn't causing an obstruction then he is the problem not you.

There are no pavements..It is an unodopted road..

We already have twice..they're hopefully moving it over to the hate crime unit..We had to go out on Wed and had to leave our 2 disabled adult children..Whilst away this man started intimidating both of them within 5 mins of us leaving..Both had separate seizures because of the distress he is causing us on that day..

Parking issue aside, why do you find it ok to have a hedge that's so overgrown that it takes up all the pavement?
Cut it back, clear the pavement then if your car is no longer in danger of being scratched, park there.
OR if you choose to make an issue of it, park where you like and deal with the consequences.
I'd have thought the main issue here was to clear the pavement to ease access for everyone.