A GRAN’S dream garden has been turned into a “living nightmare” after a bitter boundary war erupted with her neighbour over just 3ft of land.
Ex-teacher Rose Smith, 60, accused her neighbour of ripping up her fence and tearing apart the decking around her hot tub in a feud over the patch of garden.
She says she was left “devastated” after returning home to find part of her newly revamped segment of land – she spent £12,500 on – destroyed.
The row centres on a one-metre patch that Rose insists is hers — however her neighbour claims belongs to him.
The neighbour had previously attempted to claim the land through adverse possession, despite Rose being the registered owner, she says.
That however was later dismissed by the Land Registry, according to Rose, but the dispute has continued to spiral.
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Rose is now working with the Land Registry to resolve the feud once and for all.
She says a professional boundary survey last month appeared to confirm her fence was in the correct position.
“What began as my dream garden has turned into a living nightmare,” said Rose, from Hayes, West London.
“I won’t stop until what’s mine is finally respected. I just want to be able to relax in my garden with my family.”
The grandmother’s transformation to the forgotten end of her plot into a luxury space with decking and a hot tub ahead of her 60th birthday cost her £12,500.
The face lift also took some five months to complete.
But the nightmare began in April 2024, when Rose received a shock letter from the Land Registry.
It revealed her neighbour was attempting to claim the land — which had been overgrown and unused for years — through adverse possession.
“I didn’t even realise the land was mine,” Rose said. “I’ve lived here ten years. As soon as I found out, I disputed it.”
After months of waiting, she says the claim was rejected — and she moved ahead with renovating the patch, installing a new fence in line with the official boundary plan.
From February to June last year, Rose worked tirelessly — and by July, the garden was finished just in time for her birthday celebrations.
But in August, she says her neighbour tried to claim the land again — this time through solicitors.
On September 22, Rose returned from work to find her garden had been cut into.
“He had ripped out my fence and sawn about a metre off my garden at a slope,” she said.
“He took five wooden planks from the hot tub surround and chopped off part of the decking. I couldn’t believe it.”
She claims the neighbour replaced her fence with his own, then parked two cars and a JCB dumper truck tight up against it.
Rose says she even found a teenager guarding the boundary, who allegedly told her it was his “legal right”.
Cops were called, but Rose claims she was told it was a civil matter, despite around £2,000 worth of damage.
Her daughter later removed the fence — but another one was erected in December, encroaching even further into her land, she says.
“I just wanted a safe garden where my grandchildren could play,” Rose said.
“Instead, it’s been stress, damage and months of worry.”
The neighbour was contacted twice for comment.
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