Why it pays to be a good neighbour

I’M often contacted about neighbour disputes and my advice is always the same – compromise and resolve your differences.

It is never advisable to fall out with your neighbours and a court case decided last week demonstrates why this is sound advice.

Neighbours Antoinette Williams and Barbara Pilcher clashed over a 40ft-high apple tree in Mrs Williams’ garden.

Mrs Pilcher claimed the tree dropped rotten apples into her garden, attracting hordes of wasps.

She also said the branches were protruding into her garden.

At this point, Mrs Williams could have cut the branches back, resolving the dispute. Mrs Pilcher would also have been within her legal rights to cut the branches back to her boundary line, so long as she did not damage the tree and put the cuttings back in her neighbour’s garden.

However, rather than either party taking these sensible steps, the dispute escalated into something far worse.

Mrs Williams allegedly started a hate campaign against Mrs Pilcher, staring at her out of the window, placing compost heaps near her garden and starting a new dispute over parking.

The matter then ended up going through the courts, which led to a costly five-day trial.

A dispute that could easily have been resolved ended up with Mrs Williams being landed with an order to pay compensation to the tune of £12,000 for harassment, a cost order in the region of £135,000 to £180,000 and a legal bill of more than £100,000.

The judge summed up by saying: “There is strong evidence of Mrs Williams behaving in a vindictive way towards Mrs Pilcher deliberately to alarm and distress her.”

He also said that Mrs Williams was “lacking in self-control”.

To be clear, Mrs Williams did not lose the case because of her tree – she lost due to the harassment and what the court found to be unacceptable behaviour.

For more information about your legal rights when it comes to neighbour disputes, visit my Youtube channel at youtube.com/c/ Theconsumerlawyer