Sounds like a case for special branch!
Police called to investigate retired surgeon, 81, after he cut 3 twigs obscuring a traffic mirror
HE thought he was simply doing his bit to improve road safety outside his home.
But after David Tolhurst trimmed three twigs from a neighbour’s hedge that were obscuring a traffic mirror, he was reported to police.
The retired surgeon, 81, was astonished when officers arrived at his door to accuse him of vandalism.
He had installed the mirror after his wife’s car was written off by another vehicle as she reversed out of their drive – and when his neighbour’s hedge began to cover the mirror, the grandfather used some secateurs to prune it.
But shortly afterwards, two police officers visited him, investigating a complaint by the neighbour. ‘The police must have better things to do,’ said
‘Complete waste of time and money’
Professor Tolhurst, a plastic surgeon who practised at Great Ormond Street and was a fellow of Harvard University in the US. ‘I was speaking to a retired policeman friend of mine who was furious at how I’ve been treated.’
The mirror was initially attached to a telegraph pole outside his £1million home in Edwardstone, Suffolk, in September 2014. But he says it was removed after David Kirby, who lives opposite, contacted the local authority to say the reflection was dazzling motorists and a county highways engineer came round.
‘I told them I was not going to take such nonsense because I was only concerned about safety,’ said Professor Tolhurst. ‘You see hundreds of mirrors around the country … It seemed petty and ridiculous.’
Another neighbour, Nicholas Tribe, then gave permission for the mirror to be moved on to his land on the other side of the road in December that year.
Three months later, Professor Tolhurst cut back the adjoining neighbour’s hedge as it was blocking his view of the mirror when he pulled out of his drive. ‘The hedge grew up so I trimmed away three little twigs and some ivy,’ he said. ‘Two policemen in a very large van turned up to tell me off for “vandalising the property of a neighbour”. The hedge was shared by two neighbours and one had complained to police about me deforming their hedge.
‘I told them I am not a vandal and they seemed awfully sorry but they reminded me of the statutory requirements that I must not interfere with the property of other people.’ After nego- tiations failed to resolve the row, Professor Tolhurst moved the mirror to a pole in his front garden earlier this month.
‘The whole drama has been a complete waste of time and money,’ he said.
Homeowners are permitted to trim branches that encroach on to their land – but only up to the boundary. Cutting foliage beyond this can be considered damage and lead to court action. Professor Tolhurst had Mr Tribe’s permission to cut the hedge over- hanging his land and believes if he did stray over Mr Kirby’s boundary it was only by a matter of centimetres. Mr Tribe, 49, said last night: ‘The mirror could help to prevent a nasty accident, so I can’t understand why anyone would have any issue with it.’
Suffolk council said the mirror was initially on a highway so required permission from the Department for Transport.
Mr Kirby was unavailable for comment yesterday.