A mum has expressed her frustration with a keen and "overly friendly" neighbour who continually peeks into her garden to talk to her.
Since moving in, the mum and her family have had repeated problems with their next-door-neighbour. "Every single time" they go out into their back garden, the neighbour will come out and speak to them, initially over the low hedge which acted as a divider between their gardens.
In a bid to secure some privacy and enjoy their outdoor space in peace, they put up a six foot hedge on their side. Not wanting to hurt their neighbour's feelings, they claimed the new hedge was because they were thinking of getting a dog.
READ MORE: Announcement over Liverpool Bonfire Night fireworks display 2022
The neighbour "made a few jokey comments about how it was harder" to speak to them due to the taller hedge, but she then made use of a step. She uses this "whenever" the family ventures into their garden so she can continue to talk with them.
Getting desperate, the mum and her husband planted some bamboo along the fence during the summer time which has since "shot up" and is now eight feet tall - but this has not deterred their neighbour's attempts at contact. The neighbour now has a large trampoline in her garden - originally bought for her own children - which she uses to jump on so she can continue to chat with the frustrated mum.
The mum took to Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread to seek advice on how to "directly" but "gently" ask their neighbour to give them some privacy. In a post titled "Neighbour bought a trampoline to look over our fence", she explained the situation and then continued: "When I was out in the garden a few weeks ago, up she popped over the top of the bamboo, laughing hysterically, and shouting 'see what I've had to resort to! hahaha!' I said something along the lines of 'oh yes haha, is that a trampoline for X' and she said it was originally but he wasn't interested so she's going to use it for exercise instead.
"So far all her exercises have coincided with us being out in the garden. We're now back at square one and whenever we're out she appears over the bamboo, laughing and shouting. My husband is very non confrontational and says the bamboo will keep growing and eventually she won't be able to see over it, but I think this will take a year as she must be hitting the 20ft mark at full jump height. We would also start losing light if we let it get that high.
"WIBU [would I be unreasonable] to tell her directly to give us some privacy? Is there a gentle way to do it that won't hurt her feelings that we're missing?"
The mum's post was met with hundreds of responses from fellow Mumsnet users. Some were keen to offer advice, others were in hysterics over the situation, and some doubted the authenticity of the mum's story.
One joked: "Gentle? I'd be hiring a hitman!" A second said: "With persistent people like this you need to be blunt. It's the only way to get it across."
A third said: "Hilarious, sorry not helpful but the thought of you and your neighbour in a bizarre fencing/jumping arms race is cracking me up. What next, stilts?"
A fourth suggested: "Headphones every time you are out in the garden and ignoring her because you can't hear her. She'll give up." And another simply said: "This cannot be real".
One Mumnset user commented: "This [is] amazing in the total madness of it. Her head popping up over the bamboo." Another said: "YABU [you are being unreasonable] for planting bamboo. Awful stuff. The thought of your neighbour bouncing 9 foot in the air to talk to you sounds hilarious but I suspect I'd get bored of it fairly quickly if I were in your shoes."
In a follow up comment, the mum added: "To clarify, we don't dislike this woman, we think she's funny and bubbly and enjoy saying hello and having a quick chat in the FRONT garden. We just want to enjoy the back garden as a family."
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to our what's on newsletter
READ NEXT:
- We tried own brand fish fingers from Asda, Aldi, Tesco and one tasted 'just like Birds Eye'
Iceland boss issues £35 air fryer update as product flies off shelves
I found a £7 foundation that's 'way better' than the £35 Estée Lauder Double Wear
Shops closed on Boxing Day 2022 including Home Bargains, Aldi and Iceland
Major Stranger Things and Cobra Kai stars confirmed for Liverpool Comic Con 2022
