Inconsiderate neighbours.

[Grayjay]

Hi, Reading some posts on yesterday's lovely weather. I'm glad some of us enjoyed it. I took the opportunity to do a bit of gardening until the ******* next door lit a bonfire and kept it going for about 5 hours. So went inside, shut all windows and doors and that's how I spent a lovely sunny day. Shut up inside.!!!. I'm not sure if I can do anything about this if it happens again. Any ideas?🤔 Cheers.

[sassy59]

Check with your local council abs ask if you live in a smoke free zone. If not, speak to your neighbour in a calm way and tell him how his bonfire impacts on your health.

Hope that helps and I do feel for you. We don’t live in a smoke free zone. Xxxxx

[Grayjay in reply to sassy59]

Thanks Sassy. I would have a word with him but a bit reluctant in case it doesn't go too well. If I was in better health, no problem. It speaks for itself what sort of person he is to do something like that. There must have been other neighbours affected as well, especially those with children. Maybe something will happen.

Thanks again.

[powderpuff]

That’s just hideous Grayjay & you shouldn’t have to put up with it!

I’m almost certain local authorities have rules about lighting bonfires, some banning them altogether & others restricting the hours when they are allowed.

Hopefully you’ll have a better day today! 💐

[Grayjay in reply to powderpuff]

Thanks, I don't think there's anything left to burn today.😁

[powderpuff in reply to Grayjay]

How about their effigies 😉

[Grayjay in reply to powderpuff]

Making them as we speak.😂

[Megs64 in reply to powderpuff]

Had a similar day myself yest. Theymoved in 5 years ago then got an alsation who is out of control and barks all hours of the day and nite.lovely ad it was yest. After dinner they lit a bar bq. Which smoked for hours ther teenage kids came round and belt d music out for hours . So I couldn’t sit in the garden.

[CDPO16]

I don't have a solution but you have my sympathy. I have a similar neighbour. In my area the council allows garden rubbish to be burnt but a licence is needed for what is classed as a bonfire. I think many people are unaware of the problem it can cause for those with lung disease. I don't know if your neighbour is aware of your problem. Mine is but doesn't stop to think of the problem he may be causing and I am reluctant to speak to him as he 'blows' if he thinks anyone is complaining about what he does on his property!

I hope you manage to get your problem resolved.

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

I have just had to report one of my neighbors for this and smoking drugs in the garden. It smelt that bad I had to close all my doors and windows, I feel so sorry for his 76 year old father who has cancer. Hope you have a better day today and take care of yourself 😊 Bernadette xx

[Grayjay in reply to Damon1864]

Cheers Damon

[hypercat54]

I live in a block of 4 flats and own mine, so does my neighbour. He admits he finds bonfires fascinating and used to do quite a few in our shared garden - that is until half the neighbourhood complained! Now he has to limit himself to 2/3 a year. Having said that he does burn garden rubbish which is useful. My main complaint of him is that he doesn't put it out entirely when he leaves it - despite me always asking him too. I am convinced that one day he will burn the block down.

Fortunately I am mild and it doesn't really affect me that much. It must be awful if it does so I agree with finding out the bye laws of your area. Also have a word with your neighbours etc. and see if it bothers them too. x

[Grayjay in reply to hypercat54]

Yes I'll look into it after the Bank Hol.

Cheers

[Susiedee]

Isn't it awful that we all have to put up with this ignorance and thoughtlessness because of the possible repercussions? I had neighbours who would have breakfast barbecues as well as evening ones. Couldn't put washing out, sit outside and needed to keep windows shut almost all the time. Perhaps you could turn a hose on the fire? Or him ...

[Grayjay]

I hope it doesn't happen again for a while. If it does I'll have to do something about it.

Cheers X

[jmsutt]

I had the same experience yesterday. Next door neighbor, nice fella but thoughtless as my husband in casual conversation has mentioned that I cannot tolerate open wood fires due to lung condition. My plan: Tactfully remind him, then if it happens again, I will phone authorities.

[peege]

Apart from being inconsiderate it's pretty poor manners not to at the very least pop a note through the door warning you so you can close the windows. Appalling.

[Juliette011]

What a bugger. But your neighbour probably has no idea the effect it causes people with bad lungs. Many people have no clue how, for example, burning a wood fire in their home, has nasty consequences for my breathing!!

Maybe just a quiet respectful chat explaining. And request if, (that is if it is allowed in your area) for s/he to let you know when he is planning such a task and then, give you the heads up so to speak so you can make other plans for yourself. Some type of compromise if at all possible.

Wishing you and yours the best now and in the future. May there be better breathing.

[Grayjay in reply to Juliette011]

Thank you X

[Margaret_craft]

Contact your council Grayjay. I did for the very same reason, was told they are not allowed to light fires until after 8pm. I don't know if all council's are the same, it's worth giving them a phone. I do hope you are successful.

[Grayjay in reply to Margaret_craft]

Thank you. X

[Hacienda]

A few Weeks ago, when we had our first " Hot Weather" we all on here talked about a Neighbour and his Bonfire. As I live in an Area of Bungalows for mainly Disabled People, One non Disabled having his Bungalow re modernised ( which is good) decided to Burn all the old wooden window frames in his Garden. We all Suffered immensely, My Hubby asked him politely to Stop as most of us had to close windows to keep the Putrid Smoke from choking us all, as I have Oxygen and a Large Emergency Cylinder in my hall way , this was too dangerous to carry on, The Police were called and the Neighbour was Told to " Put it Out" and No More Bonfires, have all rubble collected as is the Norm. So Far So Good, he is still Renovating his Bungalow, Thankfully with no Bonfires. So Call The Police. Hope you get it Sorted. Good Luck. C. xxx

[Ergendl in reply to Hacienda]

How awful. The paint on the window frames would have been poisonous when burning.

[Arch74]

Hi Grayjay, I'm so sorry your having to go through this with your neighbour, I do feel for you as I to once had an inconsiderate neighbour. Do you think a quiet word would help, if not mention is to your council. As you are vulnerable to smoke. 👍🌹

[anng18]

It depends on local council by laws. Where I live, people are not meant to light a bonfire before 6 p.m. I had big problems in the past, but luckily I had a very considerate neighbour who apologised and sent us some veg. I've always been allergic to bonfires, even before I developed COPD. One of the big problems, is when people burn wet garden waste and then the smoke is ten times worse. I was told by an environmental officer that bonfires have 10 times more chemicals in them than cigarettes, so I'm surprised they are allowed, anywhere!

Very sympathetic to you. Why do people do it?

[stamford1234]

I think that there are some local bye laws regarding fires. Check with your Council. I hope you have better days ... next week. COPD and warm weather don't go together x

[RoadRunner44]

Hi, Yes I feel the same way as you and others, neighbours can be very inconsiderate. Such a shame you had to spend the rest of the day indoors. I had just set up my sun bed to enjoy the peace and quiet of a beautiful day. I sat back with a nice cool drink and looked around my lovely garden enjoying the solitude.

Then, bow wow, bow wow wow, wow. The dogs next door started barking because the owner had just left. I love all animals and over the years have had an assortment of pets including dogs. However, my neighbour has four dogs who all bark at once and it is very annoying to say the least. Whenever my dogs started barking when outdoors I would bring them indoors. Eventually they got the message and just one look from me would prevent them from continuing to bark.

Apparently other neighbours have broached the subject to this neighbour but she responded by saying that's what dogs do! A very selfish attitude.

[Patgray]

I had the same problem last summer. The man concerned , his garden backs on to mine and he regularly lit fires in the afternoons.

I was very pleasant and asked him if he could maybe wait till later to burn his whatever and explained that myself and many others had washing drying on the line. He turned away without answering and walked off. How rude !!

This happened again within days so again I approached him and asked him to be a little more considerate to his fellow neighbours and got a foul mouthful in retaliation.

That was enough.

Two days later the fire was again burning so I put a small ladder up against the fence and got my garden hose and enjoyed putting the fire out myself.

I couldn’t repeat the verbal that came out of his mouth so like him with no words spoken from me I removed my ladder and walked away.

It felt good.

Happy to say we suffered no more fires and he has now left the area.

I didn’t think I had it in me to do something like that but there you go people only take so much. Brave heart

[Grayjay]

Ha ha well done.

Would you believe that my neighbour is at it again!!! I can't see him unfortunately but have been shouting at him over the fence to no avail. Luckily the wind is blowing in a different direction so it's not too bad. I will be seeking advice tomorrow to see if I can stop him.

X

[morehope]

Here in the U.S. he would shortly be visited by the police even WITHOUT your participation. He would ORDERED to put that @#$%^& FIRE OUT! It would NOT be a polite request.

[Inamoment]

27th en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Env...

The usa are very strict about gardens aren't they? Some sort of local housing group?

[mick5]

We had a similar problem a while back and i asked them in future could they give me a warning, they know my problems,they told me where to go So i contacted the council , whoops we live in a smoke free zone nice letter from council asking me to report any more problems and they will be fined. This may not help you but sometimes the system works.

[Sandyeggo]

HeyGrey in my experience most people want to be nice. Perhaps if you just let them know about your lungs and how an exacerbation can really set us back and how you’re sure they would want the same consideration shown towards them if they were ill which you certainly hope they never are. I went through something similar many years ago when someone called the police bcuz my dog barked EVERYDAY at 5pm so I talked to the officers and he said it was really no big deal but I was the one stuck w/ the unhappy neighbor an I had to live there so he recommended I find a peaceful resolution so I did and everything was fine after we compromised for the sake of peace. Good luck

[Keep-positive]

Don't know if anyone has already suggested this Grayjay.

Maybe get an appointment with your local councillor and explain your health problems and ask them if anything can be done to prevent him doing this.

Terrible you have to lock yourself away in your house xx

[Lilianne]

It is understood where we live that neighbours who light bonfires have to inform neighbours before doing so. It is also true that you must not light a bonfire until after 6.0 pm. I am sure that this is outlined in a byelaw somewhere. Unfortunately some neighbours are far too difficult to listen to reason. One of my neighbours are such, I have been asked not to speak to them and when I forgot and said Good Evening, it ended up with the guy rushing towards me, jabbing his finger in my face and telling me to b-gger off! He ius obviously a cretin to do this to a 76 year old woman. I sincerely hope that your neighbours are not as bad as these of mine. The rest of our neighbours are really lovely and are more like friends. Still you can't win them all can you!!

Best wishes Lilianne.

[Aingeful]

I so sympathise!

I have the same problem with BBQs especially those awful disposable ones.

. My daughter has a gas BBQ with a closed top. I have absolutely no problems with this, no smoke just faint cooking smells. I think these should be made mandatory!

Re barking dogs, it would make me want to murder someone!! This isn’t what a well trained dog does!! I had lived in my present home for three months before I even realised that next door had a dog!!

These are the rules here in the UK.

Bonfire Regulations

You can’t get rid of household waste if it will cause pollution or harm people’s health.This includes burning it.However, the legal principle is that any nuisance must usually happen on a regular basis to be considered so:Your council can issue an ‘abatement notice’ if a neighbour’s bonfire is causing a nuisance. A bonfire must happen frequently to be considered a nuisance.Your neighbour can be fined up to £5,000 if they don’t stick to the notice.

[vittorio]

OH DEAR GRAYJAY, ! - HOPE THER'E NOT THE " NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL " VARIETY WE SEE ON THE TV PROGRAMMES ! ...THIS IS A BIT TRICKY THIS ONE ….AS SUGGESTED , YOU CAN ONLY ASK THEM TO BE A BIT MORE CONSIDERATE ….AND AS SUGGESTED , RING THE COUNCIL FOR THE LEGAL SITUATION - GOOD LUCK ….