If you’re bearing a grudge against your neighbours, one way to exact revenge is plant a leylandii hedge in your garden. Left unclipped, it could grow to up to 35m high and 5m wide. It will be a haven for garden birds, insects and even the odd mammal, but your neighbours will hate you.

The news broke this week that a Plymouth resident has upset all of his neighbours by planting 16 leylandii trees in his front garden and leaving them to grow, completely obscuring the house. At one time the hedge would have looked rather impressive, but now it’s an eyesore. The hedge draws out moisture and nutrients from the soil and deprives neighbouring gardens of light.

The leyland cypress, or leylandii, is an obvious choice for homeowners wanting to avoid being overlooked by their neighbours. Leylandii grows at a phenomenal rate (around one metre a year), and will quickly provide shelter and privacy in your garden. But if it’s not trimmed regularly (up to three times a year) it can grow out of control and cause problems. Disputes between neighbours appear regularly in the news, with obsessive behaviour sometimes leading to jail terms and even murder.

Leylandii hedges aren’t the only cause of antagonism between neighbours. The height of fences, boundary disputes, neighbours’ cats, rubbish and tall trees are all issues causing angst between neighbours, not to mention the question of who pays the bill for these problems to be resolved.

How can we avoid falling out with our neighbours? If you’ve been involved in a dispute with your neighbours how did you resolve it?