'My neighbour demanded I stop using my garden - he says it affects his privacy'

Neighbourly disputes are not uncommon, especially when it comes to privacy and rows over property. But one woman has revealed that the man living next door has demanded she stop using part of her own garden.

Due to the layout of the houses in her area, her neighbour's house backs onto her green space, with a window in his property that overlooks it.

Although this isn't ideal, given that it is still very much her property, the woman often used the bottom end of the garden, the section closest to the man's house.

But he was less than impressed by this, claiming that it infringes on his privacy because the woman could peek into his home - even though he could stare out over her garden from the very same room, The Mirror reports.

In an attempt to placate the neighbour, the homeowner put a screen up, so that she couldn't see in the window. But then the man moaned that it affected the light getting into his room and restricted his view over her garden.

Exasperated, the woman turned to Mumsnet to vent her frustration. She wrote: "We live in a house where two separate streets meet and have adjoining gardens. The back wall of our neighbour's house is the boundary wall to our garden.

"There is a downstairs window on this wall that looks directly into our garden. Our neighbour asked us not to use the bottom part of our garden as it affected his privacy when he used this room.

"We put a screen up so we could use our garden privately, but the neighbour has complained that it affects his light and wants the view of our garden back.

"We've asked him to close his curtains but he refuses and he can't see anywhere other than our garden from the window so it's not like he's using our garden to look over to a better view."

In the comments, people were firmly on the woman's side, saying that she was well within her rights to use whichever part of her garden she wanted.

One person said: "He is unreasonable! Use your garden however you like." Another commented: "It's your garden, use it. He can't have it both ways!"

A third replied: "Suggest privacy film. We had a similar set-up, but it was our front door giving a direct view into a neighbour's patio doors. Their privacy film helped a lot."

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