A woman has shared her frustration about her alleged "extremely nosey and invasive neighbour". She said he keeps "watching her" over the garden fence, and it's made her "uncomfortable"

We all want good neighbours, but sometimes things can turn out unexpectedly if they begin to get nosey. After all, nobody wants to feel like they always have somebody watching them in the garden, and one woman claims she knows all too well what this feels like.

The subject recently surfaced on Reddit, where one homeowner vented her frustration about an allegedly nosey neighbour, as she wanted to seek advice on what action she can implement. While there are steps you can take to attempt to address the problem, according to expert advice, there are also rules you need to abide by.

It's not the first time such a story has arisen either. Previously, another person said they encountered a different issue with a neighbour.

The woman was seeking advice on how to deal with her reportedly "extremely nosey and invasive neighbour" after noticing something that had been bothering both her and her partner in the two years since purchasing the property. She described the house as having "came with a huge and beautiful garden which overlooked the moors and was extremely peaceful", but claimed their tranquillity was frequently disrupted.

Initially, the couple threw themselves into carrying out a great deal of work on the property. Yet since settling in, they found themselves facing an unexpected problem.

What happened?

She explained: "Whenever we were in the garden sorting stuff for the house, he would always come out and chat. At first we never thought anything of this.

"Seemed like we had a nice neighbour who was just trying to build a relationship with new neighbours and asking how the house renovation was going, etc. However, this has now slowly been getting worse over the last year, especially as the house renovation is now done and we only go in the garden to actually just relax, have friends and family over or read.

"We started noticing our neighbour becoming a bit nosey and intrusive when he started coming out of his way to come talk to us, even if it meant he was shouting across the street to us, only coming outside because he'd seen us and as soon as we went inside, he did too and making comments such as 'I noticed your car hasn't been leaving until later this week, is it because you're on work training?'

"We would have friends and/or family over in the back garden and he would come out into his back garden and interrupt us all and start a conversation and not leave even when the conversation has ended and we've gone back to talking to whoever we have over, which would then be awkward.

"It started to feel like he was genuinely monitoring all our moves and needed to be involved and know about everything and anything we were doing. I've even caught him peeping round his front door when I've returned home, watching what I'm doing."

Now that she's spending more time outdoors, the situation has begun to grate on her. She claims her neighbour is constantly "hanging over the fence" attempting to strike up conversation, and also "hangs over the fence staring and watching" her too.

She says she finds the behaviour "uncomfortable" and simply wants to enjoy some peace and quiet. This is why she was hoping for advice on what steps she could take to resolve the problem.

The post generated a great deal of discussion, with many people keen to share their thoughts and offer potential solutions.

One said: "A higher fence might help but the bigger issue is teaching him that your time outside doesn't automatically mean you're available."

Another added: "I would try just saying outright that when you're in the garden after work that's your 'couple time'. and you really cherish that time with just the two of you. Usually people don't want to interrupt that."

A third also replied: "Could you look at either increasing the height of the fence, a privacy screen or maybe plant some trees/bushes along there? Make it impossible for him to peer over and harass you. I'm sorry that you're made to feel this way in your own space."

Rules about erecting fences

While you are able to put up a fence in your garden, there are some rules you need to follow when doing so. There are height restrictions you must abide by.

Duffield Timber states: "In the UK, the maximum height for a fence without requiring planning permission is 2 metres from ground level (just over 6 feet 6 inches). If the fence is next to a highway used by vehicles or a footpath of such a highway, the maximum height is 1 metre (just over 3 feet 3 inches).

"If you want to build a fence that’s over these height limits, then you will usually need planning permission from your local planning authority (LPA). Usually, this is the planning department of your local council.

"It’s always your responsibility to seek planning permission. Rules and restrictions can differ between local councils, so if you’re unsure, contact your LPA for guidance. Planning can be a very local issue."

You should also never remove or tweak a fence that doesn't belong to you. It's vital you clue up on the rules.