Bizarre order leaves neighbours unable to look next door

We have probably all had the odd dispute with a neighbour whether it be over parking or keeping the bins out, but one couple has gone to the extreme by banning their neighbours from even looking at their property.

The bizarre and somewhat over the top command is no joke, with Nigel and Sheila Jacklin ordered by their local council in East Sussex, England to stop looking into any neighbours property or face prosecution.

On top of this, the couple aren’t even allowed to walk their usual easy route to the beach from their front door with an “exclusion zone” around the neighbours’ property.

The Times reported their usual relaxed lifestyle in the seaside home turned into a nightmare for the couple five years ago when Stephane Duckett and his partner Norinne Betjemann bought a workshop opposite their house and turned it into a holiday home.

The noisy builders, verbal abuse and light pollution made by their new neighbours become all too much for Nigel and Sheila who voiced their complaints in the local newspaper.

However, this backfired when Stephane and Norinne accused them of harassment, complaining they were using foul language in public and driving their vehicles in an aggressive manner.

“They’ve never spoken to us about the issue of where we go or approached us saying they don’t like what we do. The police failed to investigate our side of the story. They treated us like criminals even though we had reported problems with Dr Duckett and Ms Betjemann for five years. These people have no right to stop us doing what we’ve been doing,” a disgruntled Nigel told The Times.

It is understandable if a neighbour is creating havoc for another to complain but the strange orders are sometimes a little unnecessary.

In 2016, a woman in Victoria, Australia received a rude letter from a frustrated neighbour claiming she had to clean up her yard so it would fit the standard of others in the street.

“Observe every house, there’s none in the deplorable lazy as yours,” it read.

Read more: Neighbour furious after receiving angry letter about front yard

While, on other occasions a firm warning is needed, especially when someone is caught with the window wide open performing a lewd sex act.

That was the case in April of this year when residents in the Sydney suburb of Bondi on multiple occasions witnessed their neighbour “playing with himself” in full view for others in the street.

Read more: Residents disturbed by ‘neighbour from hell’ caught in lewd act

“I looked over and there’s this guy standing there by himself with the window open, facing outside, no pants on playing with himself,” a frustrated resident said.

What do you think of Nigel and Sheila’s dilemma? Have you had trouble with neighbours?