looking for some legal advice on rude neighbours

[Danny]

So for almost 6 years my grandparents have lived next to an irate, alcoholic old russian woman who one day decided she wanted to start a vendetta against them. Over the years shes tried multiple petitions to get them and the four familys related to them, myself included removed from the village, of course theres no grounds, shes just crazy, but keeps trying. shes tried calling the police saying my granfather, a 70 year old man with servere arthritis, was beating my grandma, shes gone around saying she caught me kissing a guy in her garden somehow, shes tried poisoning there garden because the trees were too tall for her, she will light a barbeque on a day my grans doing washing, not put food on it, just waft the black smoke into my grans clean clothes. ect. ect.
now my granparents bought this house in the 60s and dont want to move but this woman keeps getting worse, today i get round there to find she has photographers from the local paper taking pictures of my grandparents house from over in her garden, naturally i said "listen lads, im a filmmaker so dont fuck me around with laws, but im assuming you have permission to tape and photograph this private property yes?", they mumbled something, the woman yelled at me to get away then called them indoors.

So i know some guys on here have careers in the law so i thought id ask, is there anyway i can get this woman to shut up and leave my grandparents alone? they live on private property they bought over half a century ago. Theyve never done this woman any wrong, but she constantly harasses them, spreads lies and tries to get the in trouble with the police or the council. is there any sort of legal action they could pursue to shut this rotten old cow up?

[slickwilly13]

If murder was legal I would say kill the bitch and your problem would be solved.

I am unaware of your laws over there, but couldn't you get the bitch for harassment or slander? There has to be something. Because this is not right.

[bassman]

A restraining order? Or maybe you could get proof that she's taking picturs of you and your property? There should be some sort of peeping tom law....

This isn't as serious as your situation sounds, but I just the other day found out that my neighbor has cameras positioned around his property and one of them is facing my house. I'm looking into how I should handle it. He seems like an okay dude and I have no problem with myself being recorded, but it's my family that worries me. My point being....you can probably call your local law enforcement, give them your account of things(anonymously) and then decide what you want to do based on their thoghts.

[Ghost Of War]

The only advice I can give (from experience), is to tell your Grandparents to start keeping a diary of every single incident, and to pay a visit to their local Citizens Advice Bureau and explain the situation, and ask them to help draft a letter to the council. If there is any type of damage to their property, or trespassing on their property, or threatening behaviour, report it to the police, no matter how trivial it seems. I'd report the photographers, too.

[Yojimbo]

The only advice I can give (from experience), is to tell your Grandparents to start keeping a diary of every single incident, and to pay a visit to their local Citizens Advice Bureau and explain the situation, and ask them to help draft a letter to the council. If there is any type of damage to their property, or trespassing on their property, or threatening behaviour, report it to the police, no matter how trivial it seems. I'd report the photographers, too.


Good advice.

Though I am not from the UK, I suspect that they must have something much like a Restraining Order which we have here which is a legal order issued by a judge which limits the type of interactions one party can have with another party. If they do indeed have something like this and the system is similar, then you would need to show some sort of cause for this action in the way of proof. Documenting the incidents, as Ghost had suggested, would be integral to that process.

[Skippy911sc]

Sue her for harassment. Keep the journal and make notes on what she does to them and you. Take pictures of her grill with nothing on it...might be a concern of the fire dept. I would video any sort of aggression or action she takes...turn the cameras on her turn the attention on her. Use the law...find a lawyer who will review these things for you.

[MikePizzoff]

I'd fight back with noise (I've done it in the past).

In my old town, noise ordinance was 10pm... so, you could really be pretty damn loud up until that point. Blasting "Altars Of Madness" by Morbid Angel is a sure fire way to piss someone off; an elderly woman would not only be pissed off by that album, but more than likely incredibly frightened! :evil:

[slickwilly13]

Secretly carry an audio recorder on you. But make sure it is hidden.

[Andy]

The only advice I can give (from experience), is to tell your Grandparents to start keeping a diary of every single incident, and to pay a visit to their local Citizens Advice Bureau and explain the situation, and ask them to help draft a letter to the council. If there is any type of damage to their property, or trespassing on their property, or threatening behaviour, report it to the police, no matter how trivial it seems. I'd report the photographers, too.


The best advice here and exactly what the police would tell you to do.

I wouldn't tape them either, you couldn't use it in court and you could get in trouble yourself.

[SymphonicX]

The only advice I can give (from experience), is to tell your Grandparents to start keeping a diary of every single incident, and to pay a visit to their local Citizens Advice Bureau and explain the situation, and ask them to help draft a letter to the council. If there is any type of damage to their property, or trespassing on their property, or threatening behaviour, report it to the police, no matter how trivial it seems. I'd report the photographers, too.

Defintiely good advice.

Sounds like this woman should be sectioned under the mental health act - perhaps an avenue to get rid of her in there??

[Danny]

The best advice here and exactly what the police would tell you to do.

I wouldn't tape them either, you couldn't use it in court and you could get in trouble yourself.

trouble is her brothers one of the local police bigwigs so thats worse than useless to call them.

[Ghost Of War]

trouble is her brothers one of the local police bigwigs so thats worse than useless to call them.

Hmmm, that's a tricky one. I'd definitely start keeping a diary, though, and tell the CAB about this police situation. As long as you and your family do everything by the book you should be fine from a legal point of view. I'm not sure how her having a brother in the police would affect what you report to them, the last thing you'd want is harrasment from the police if you start taking things further. I'm not saying they'd take her side just because she's related, but we all know how things work sometimes. I'm sure the CAB would be able to give you much better advice than I could, I'm just going from a past experience my parents had with an old neighbour.

[slickwilly13]

The best advice here and exactly what the police would tell you to do.

I wouldn't tape them either, you couldn't use it in court and you could get in trouble yourself.

You cannot record anyone???? WOW, your legal system blows. I am glad I do not live in the U.K., because not only can I record someone over here. But I can also use it as evidence in court. That sucks.

[DubiousComforts]

You cannot record anyone???? WOW, your legal system blows. I am glad I do not live in the U.K., because not only can I record someone over here. But I can also use it as evidence in court. That sucks.
For audio recording, you'd need one party's consent in most states for it to be legal; in other words, you can secretly record a conversation if you are taking part, but you're not allowed to wire tap someone else's phone.

Hellsing, your family needs an attorney who will act as advocate for your rights regardless of anything this crazy woman is allowed to get away. A stern letter from an attorney could either scare her away or perhaps push her to make a mistake to where a judge will grant a restraining order.

Keeping detailed records of all incidents and possibly videotaping the surrounding area (or letting her assume you're videotaping the area by mounting dummy security cameras) will be helpful. Good luck.

[slickwilly13]

It is ok in Texas, except for phone wire taps. I have to tell them first. It should be legal peroid. A friend of mine is going through a nasty joint custody battle w/ his ex. He has been using a audio recorder everytime he picks up his daughter. Because his ex and her b/f try to start shit with him on a regular basis.

[DubiousComforts]

It is ok in Texas, except for phone wire taps. I have to tell them first. It should be legal peroid. A friend of mine is going through a nasty joint custody battle w/ his ex. He has been using a audio recorder everytime he picks up his daughter. Because his ex and her b/f try to start shit with him on a regular basis.
But if you tell them first, isn't that two-party consent? In Texas, you only need one party's consent to legally record the conversation. If your friend secretly records his conversations with his ex-wife, he's already given his own consent and doesn't need to tell her anything. However, he can't just hide a recording device in her house.

[slickwilly13]

I was refering to phone taps, in which I have to tell them first. But if I am talking to them in person and I can hide a recorder. Also, my friend does not pick his daughter up at his ex's house. They meet at neutral grounds such as a parking lot. His ex is the type who has to be in control all the time. She wouldn't let him see his daughter for 2 yrs even with him paying child support and never missing a payment. It is one of those situations in which an adult is using their kid to hurt the other party. He is building a solid case against her at the moment. It is funny to watch a terrible person dig their own grave.

[darth los]

It is funny to watch a terrible person dig their own grave.



Yes it is. :evil:


It's one of my favorite passtimes.


:cool:

[Chic Freak]

If I were you, I would keep a diary of every incident that could be interpreted as harrassment (i.e. "behavior that causes alarm or distress" committed by the same person against the same person) then cough up £200 to spend an hour with a solicitor who specialises in civil disagreements to get their advice.

And as I'm sure you know, it it illegal to tape record anyone in the UK without their permission (that's why when you call a company the automated voice tells you "your call may be recorded for quality and training purposes"), so if you do tape the old bat, you may want to speak to your solicitor before sharing the tapes with the law!

[kortick]

keep sending Hospice to her house at all hours.

[Andy]

trouble is her brothers one of the local police bigwigs so thats worse than useless to call them.

If her brother attempts to intervene and pervert the course of police justice then he will get himself into alot of trouble aslong as you dont drop the case.

For example if you took it to court and he interupted any potential investigation, he would have to stand in front of a judge and explain why.

[SymphonicX]

yeah but we all know how these things can be very underhanded and corrupt...I've seen evidence of it, not all cops are good after all...it's definitely a risk.

[Andy]

You cannot record anyone???? WOW, your legal system blows. I am glad I do not live in the U.K., because not only can I record someone over here. But I can also use it as evidence in court. That sucks.

You cant record or monitor anyone without advising them that you are doing so by law.

[_liam_]

Buy her a massive crate of Vodka for Christmas & she'll drink herself to death