‘My neighbour bought a trampoline to spy on us over our garden fence – it’s freaky’

A mum has expressed her discomfort after her neighbour bought a trampoline just so she could peer over her fence – despite her attempts to make her garden more private

For most of us with gardens, keeping our outside space private is a top priority – after all, you want to be able to enjoy sitting outside or tending to your plants in peace. But one mum has been left fighting to keep prying eyes away from her family’s garden, as she has one neighbour who seems determined to peer over their fence.

The woman explained her next-door neighbour is “overly friendly” and used to constantly strike up a conversation over the low garden wall, even when the mum and her family wanted some privacy. To combat the issue, the family put a tall fence in place, but the woman remained determined – and she claims she has now bought a trampoline just so that she can bounce higher than the newly constructed fencing.

In a post on Mumsnet, the woman fumed: “I have had issues with an overly friendly neighbour since we moved in. The original divider between our back gardens was a low hedge, and she would come out and talk to us every single time we were out in the garden. And boy, can she talk. She also used to lift her child over the hedge without asking to play with our child (who is years older and not interested).

“Eventually, we put up a 6ft fence on our side of the hedge. I’d tried to warm her up to the idea of this beforehand by saying we were thinking of getting a dog and needed a fence to keep it in. When we put up the fence she initially made a few jokey comments about how it was harder to talk to us now, but she solved this problem by placing a step on her side and continued to pop up whenever we were out in the garden.

“My husband then planted bamboo along the fence which shot up over the summer and is now about 8ft. Last month, we saw from our bedroom window that a large trampoline had appeared in her garden. We assumed it was for her child and thought nothing of it. However, they don’t use it, she does.”

The mum claims her neighbour only ever uses the trampoline when she or her family members are using their garden, so she believes the woman is using the trampoline specifically to spy on her family.

She added: “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!’ I said something along the lines of ‘is that a trampoline for [her child]’ 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 years. We would also start losing light if we let it get that high.”

Commenters on the post were equally baffled by the neighbour’s actions, with many telling the woman she “needs to be blunt” and tell her to give her some space.

One person said: “With persistent people like this you need to be blunt. It’s the only way to get it across.”

While another added: “This is the funniest thing I’ve read on here in ages! Have a vision of this woman bouncing and peering into your garden. I’ve no idea what I would do, it sounds like she will always find a way!”

“I would tell her straight,” a third wrote, “she’s freaking you out and you don’t want to engage.”

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