A woman has taken to Reddit to share her ongoing issues with the children next door. She revealed that she had been dealing with their disruptive behaviour for years, which included riding bikes on her lawn in the rain, playing hide and seek under their cars, hitting their vehicles with balls, and slamming their bikes into their front door.
Despite attempts to speak to their parents, the situation remained unresolved. The woman explained that things took a worrying turn recently when she found a toddler from next door running towards a busy road while screaming for his mother.
She immediately returned the child to their home, where she found the door wide open – and she couldn’t believe it.
She explained that the babysitter was actually the sister of the baby’s father, and she was only 15 years old. When she was confronted about leaving the child unattended, she became defensive.
“I suggested locking the door or taking him with her upstairs, but she said she couldn’t lock the door and went back inside. The child’s parents came by when they got home and thanked us for not calling the police on them,” she wrote.
However, things took a turn for the worse when the babysitter allowed the children to pelt her house with stones. “On the camera, you can hear her telling them that we’re mean and all of this stuff and that she got in trouble because of us. The kids start throwing rocks at our house. She’s not stopping them.”
The situation escalated when one child threw a large rock at her door, causing a dent. “Finally, one of the kids, a different neighbour’s child that is part of the group we have issues with, chucks a big rock at our door. They all run away laughing. There’s a dent in our door; nothing I’m going to overreact about, but I’m not sure what the best next step is,” she added.
She ended her post by asking for advice: “I hate confrontation and dread talking to the parents. I’m not even sure if talking to them will do anything. Do I try talking to them? Do I call the police? Please help me.”
Commenters on her post urged her to involve the police, stating she should “call the cops because they’re damaging your property”.
One irate individual exclaimed: “Seriously? You have multiple amounts of property damage and have already talked to the parents with no change, and you do nothing. Now you see the neighbours endangering their child by leaving them with an incompetent sitter…and you do nothing.
“CALL THE POLICE! Call the non-emergency number and report them!! Start a paper trail of the damage they have done to your property. Show the cops the video and the damage. Threaten the parents with the report and the videos and say you’ll be suing them (small claims court) for the damages.
“Even if you have no real plans of suing them, I’m pretty sure a visit from the cops and the threat of litigation will, most likely, scare them.
“Grow a spine and stop letting your neighbours walk all over you! Seriously? They dented your front door, and you’re STILL debating what you should do. Come on, my dude!”
Another added: “Stand up for yourself. You already have the camera. You already have footage, so start downloading the footage into a file so you have it and it doesn’t disappear in 60 days”.
When should you involve the police in a neighbour dispute?
The government website offers a step-by-step guide for those dealing with neighbour disputes.
Firstly, it suggests attempting to resolve the issue informally through conversation.
If your neighbour is a tenant, contacting their landlord could be beneficial.
Should informal discussions prove unsuccessful, mediation services are recommended.
In cases where the dispute involves a statutory nuisance such as loud music or barking dogs, lodging a complaint with your local council is advised.
If your neighbour is breaking the law through violence or harassment, immediate contact with the police is necessary.
Lastly, if all else fails, legal action through the courts can be considered as a final resort.