Trespassing? ME?

[Tannedbaldhead]

Was surveying a shed at the front of a council house where its asbestos cement roof was to be removed and replaced with plastic.
To get the full side elevation in a photograph I took a few steps back encroaching into next door's drive. There was no partition or demarcation between "my" drive other than a heel-kerb and different coloured stones between the paving slabs.
I was howled at from the "lady" this house and told in no uncertain terms that as a council contractor I know it's criminal trespass "to put a foot in a private house's garden". I told the lady I was sorry and it was all right now as the job was done. (escalating this sort of nonsense can go horribly wrong and bring on disciplinary action and clients (councils and housing associations) can get unreasonably when their contractors tell members of the public to feck off)
She claims she is taking this "all the way" where-ever that may be. I'm assuming she will receive a "don't be so stupid" response every where she goes.
According to tennent I was dealing with the woman and her husband have been nutters about postman, paperboys and contractors cutting across their drive to get next door ever since they bought the house from the council.

Edited by Tannedbaldhead on Sunday 4th February 17:20

[Pericoloso]

What's the chances they think they own the parking space in the road outside the house ?

Fairly high.

[PurpleMoonlight]

Trespass is a civil offence not a criminal offence.

Some people are just mental though and will look to cause grief for their chosen victim.

[BMR]

Even worse when it’s a 4 in a block set of flats and the up and downstairs occupiers need access on/through each other’s properties for things like putting bins out, access to gas meters etc. From my experience of visiting these properties it seems a common occurrence that people get quite possessive of what is ‘theirs’.

[robinessex]

I was under the impression that there is no such thing as 'trespass', that is being on someone's property uninvited. When I owned a piece of farmland, my solicitor instructed me to get third party insurance on it, in case some idiot got on it, and suffered injury !

[Tannedbaldhead]

BMR said:

Even worse when it’s a 4 in a block set of flats and the up and downstairs occupiers need access on/through each other’s properties for things like putting bins out, access to gas meters etc. From my experience of visiting these properties it seems a common occurrence that people get quite possessive of what is ‘theirs’.

Most of my working life has been surveying social housing. Most stressful job I ever had was surveying to establish demarcation and access whre council/HA houses were purchased under Right To Buy.
In the old days, as all the houses belonged to the council, there was no need to legally establish in title deeds where one garden stopped and the next started, what areas were shared or communal and what paths provided access rights to what neighbours.
There were times I'd have felt safer investigating the Russian Mafia than telling a buyer of an end terrace house their path was to remain clear to provide every other occupant in the street access to their back gardens.

Edited by Tannedbaldhead on Sunday 4th February 14:34

[mickmcpaddy]

I thought everyone had an implied right of access up someone's drive unless told otherwise.

[paintman]

Could be fun for a flash mobbing....

[fouronthefloor]

I wonder which way she voted in the referendum.

[mickmcpaddy]

fouronthefloor said:

I wonder which way she voted in the referendum.

I've literally never heard anyone make the connection between someone being mental and voting brexit before, have you passed these finding on to the government? I think you just might be on to something here, maybe you are the shining star the remainers have been looking to and you just might be able get the whole thing reversed.

[eldar]

mickmcpaddy said:

I've literally never heard anyone make the connection between someone being mental and voting brexit before, have you passed these finding on to the government? I think you just might be on to something here, maybe you are the shining star the remainers have been looking to and you just might be able get the whole thing reversed.

You assumed it was a brexit vote...

[Wacky Racer]

Woman sounds like a nutter.

Ignore.

[InitialDave]

If it comes down to it, maybe you were using your implied right of access (or whatever it's called) to go across her property to knock on her door to ask a question, and changed your mind when she revealed herself to be a nutter.

[fouronthefloor]

Wacky Racer said:

Woman sounds like a nutter.

Ignore.

Come on. We don't know how she voted.