Hedge cut without my permission - criminal damage?
Discussion
I live next door to a farm run by a sociopath. In this small rural hamlet none of the few neighbours will have anything to do with him as he has upset everyone at some point or another and he continues to do so. He seems to thrive on confrontation.
In the first five or so years of us moving here all was fine, but after three inconsiderate building projects (we’re talking double height steel sheds of aircraft hanger size passed as permissive development after bent applications, seemingly positioned to cause maximum inconvenience to the residencies nearby) I had enough and wrote to the local authority expressing my displeasure. He managed to get a copy of my letter and since then he has become abusive and threatening.
On Sunday we returned from a week away to discover he has taken his hedge cutter (the sort attached to a tractor which flails the hedges) to our laurel hedge and reduced its depth (but not its height) considerably. Surely he is not allowed to do this without permission? Any legal experts able to give me some steerage before I escalate matters? For clarity the laurel hedge borders a narrow lane, on the other side of which his farm lies.
In the first five or so years of us moving here all was fine, but after three inconsiderate building projects (we’re talking double height steel sheds of aircraft hanger size passed as permissive development after bent applications, seemingly positioned to cause maximum inconvenience to the residencies nearby) I had enough and wrote to the local authority expressing my displeasure. He managed to get a copy of my letter and since then he has become abusive and threatening.
On Sunday we returned from a week away to discover he has taken his hedge cutter (the sort attached to a tractor which flails the hedges) to our laurel hedge and reduced its depth (but not its height) considerably. Surely he is not allowed to do this without permission? Any legal experts able to give me some steerage before I escalate matters? For clarity the laurel hedge borders a narrow lane, on the other side of which his farm lies.
Lungauer said:
I live next door to a farm run by a sociopath. In this small rural hamlet none of the few neighbours will have anything to do with him as he has upset everyone at some point or another and he continues to do so. He seems to thrive on confrontation.
In the first five or so years of us moving here all was fine, but after three inconsiderate building projects (we’re talking double height steel sheds of aircraft hanger size passed as permissive development after bent applications, seemingly positioned to cause maximum inconvenience to the residencies nearby) I had enough and wrote to the local authority expressing my displeasure. He managed to get a copy of my letter and since then he has become abusive and threatening.
On Sunday we returned from a week away to discover he has taken his hedge cutter (the sort attached to a tractor which flails the hedges) to our laurel hedge and reduced its depth (but not its height) considerably. Surely he is not allowed to do this without permission? Any legal experts able to give me some steerage before I escalate matters? For clarity the laurel hedge borders a narrow lane, on the other side of which his farm lies.
did he cut the hedge on your side or his?In the first five or so years of us moving here all was fine, but after three inconsiderate building projects (we’re talking double height steel sheds of aircraft hanger size passed as permissive development after bent applications, seemingly positioned to cause maximum inconvenience to the residencies nearby) I had enough and wrote to the local authority expressing my displeasure. He managed to get a copy of my letter and since then he has become abusive and threatening.
On Sunday we returned from a week away to discover he has taken his hedge cutter (the sort attached to a tractor which flails the hedges) to our laurel hedge and reduced its depth (but not its height) considerably. Surely he is not allowed to do this without permission? Any legal experts able to give me some steerage before I escalate matters? For clarity the laurel hedge borders a narrow lane, on the other side of which his farm lies.
Was the hedge growing beyond your boundary?
Farmers often cut hedges on behalf of the council.
If your hedge was encroaching on the lane, you don't have a lot to moan about.
If he's cut within your boundary, then you may have a genuine complaint, but it's not unusual for council contractors to push back vegetation beyond the edge of a lane, particularly if the owner of the hedge is not pro-active in trimming it.
Farmers often cut hedges on behalf of the council.
If your hedge was encroaching on the lane, you don't have a lot to moan about.
If he's cut within your boundary, then you may have a genuine complaint, but it's not unusual for council contractors to push back vegetation beyond the edge of a lane, particularly if the owner of the hedge is not pro-active in trimming it.
QJumper said:
Surely if it's on the lane side then he's done you a favour, and to make a thing of it would just seem like tit for tat.
I guess you could check with a lawyer, if you want to hedge your bets
My barometer would also be to see if the hedge looked the same on my side, then don’t even acknowledge it.I guess you could check with a lawyer, if you want to hedge your bets
If the guy is as connected to the council as you say, then you need to act more coldly.
Thanks for the comments and I get the derision, I really do, and a hedge cut for nothing would be great in the normal course of events, however given the level of hatred he seems to have I can’t imagine he did it out of largesse.
I had trimmed the hedge back well beyond the edge of the verge it sits on in the autumn, at his request, and it was not encroaching on to the lane. I think it was done to antagonise (which it has clearly done), but perhaps rather than rise to the bait perhaps it would be more effective to thank him for saving me more trouble.
I had trimmed the hedge back well beyond the edge of the verge it sits on in the autumn, at his request, and it was not encroaching on to the lane. I think it was done to antagonise (which it has clearly done), but perhaps rather than rise to the bait perhaps it would be more effective to thank him for saving me more trouble.
Fozziebear said:
You could always put some solid bars along your boundary and hedge to give him something to hit if he does it again, Personally id not even acknowledge it and wave each time he passes, at some point a nutter will deal with him
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