If a ball is kicked into neighbours garden is neighbour legally obliged to return it?

Jane Doe

Registered User
Messages
380
if a ball is kicked in to neighbours garden is the neighbour legally obliged to give it back? They cannot damage it but could they just leave it there.
 
I think golf balls might be viewed differently from footballs. Note also that the legal case mentioned seemed to turn on the idea that the golf balls could be considered "lost or abandoned".
 
Don't know if this may be perceived as flippant, but unless you're living alongside a golf course where you are regularly indundated with golf balls appearing in your garden, I'd just throw whatever ball arrives in my garden back over the wall where I've at times heard children playing with same. Again, if damage is done to you or your property, that's a horse of a different colour - and I would pursue that legally.
 
We get footballs over about 3 times a day, which sometimes destroys our plants. I know they must come over to get them when we are not in the house. I don't see what we can do about it, because they don't listen about kicking the balls in the street by the cars
 
We get footballs over about 3 times a day, which sometimes destroys our plants. I know they must come over to get them when we are not in the house. I don't see what we can do about it, because they don't listen about kicking the balls in the street by the cars
I think it may be illegal to kick ball in street and may constitute anti social behaviour by putting people in fear damage. Cannot find the wording now

edit found something
The Housing Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1997 defines anti-social
behaviour as: any behaviour which causes or is likely to cause any
significant or persistent danger, injury, DAMAGE, loss or fear to any
person , living, working or otherwise lawfully in the vicinity of a
house provided by a local authority.
Does it only apply to local authorty houses?
 
if a ball is kicked in to neighbours garden is the neighbour legally obliged to give it back? They cannot damage it but could they just leave it there.
I politely advised footy to be played elsewhere (rather than against the fence of my back garden. That was ignored - and ultimately, that ball met with stanley blade before being returned in 2 halves.


Problem solved permanently.
 
I politely advised footy to be played elsewhere (rather than against the fence of my back garden. That was ignored - and ultimately, that ball met with stanley blade before being returned in 2 halves.


Problem solved permanently.
you probably broke the law though and could be in trouble if the complained to the garda. did they see you and did parent say anything
 
"Problem solved permanently"

I would not be so sure that the problem is solved permanently. Kids nowadays don't defer to adults as they used to.You could be storing up touble for yourself in the future. To be honest returning the ball in two halves smacks of petty gloating and is less than what one would expect from an adult.
 
"Problem solved permanently"

I would not be so sure that the problem is solved permanently. Kids nowadays don't defer to adults as they used to.You could be storing up touble for yourself in the future. To be honest returning the ball in two halves smacks of petty gloating and is less than what one would expect from an adult.
You do have a point - and it might come back to bite me in the future. However, I really detest people (and I don't care if they are kids - if they were given the required direction from their parents (as this is done in view of said parents), then this situation shouldn't arise) dropping in my back garden uninvited - staring in my back window at me. As regards the petty gloating, that wasn't really where I was heading. It was (and is) a case of wanting total privacy and quiet enjoyment of my own home. As already pointed out, my 'solution' wasn't perfect - but it's the only real option I could run with. Asking them to pick a different spot didn't seem to sway them. A warning that the ball wouldn't be coming back the next time was met with the tossing of a crisp bag into my garden.

Of course, it doesn't solve the problem - but the issue doesn't lie with the kids!
 
Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001:

4.—(1) Subject to section 5 , a person is guilty of theft if he or she dishonestly appropriates property without the consent of its owner and with the intention of depriving its owner of it.
(2) For the purposes of this section a person does not appropriate property without the consent of its owner if—
(a) the person believes that he or she has the owner's consent, or would have the owner's consent if the owner knew of the appropriation of the property and the circumstances in which it was appropriated, or
(b) (except where the property came to the person as trustee or personal representative) he or she appropriates the property in the belief that the owner cannot be discovered by taking reasonable steps,
but consent obtained by deception or intimidation is not consent for those purposes.


So where does this leave the matter of the ball if:
- some child accidentally kicked it in;
- you know the owner of the ball;

Lets say you are in the Jury - and it so happens the Ball is worth €1,000 for whatever reason.
- you are told the child accidentally kicked the ball in
- was never a nuisance;
- the occupier has been asked to give the ball back and says or does nothing.

What would you do?
 
I don't have any problem with balls coming over. And when I do see them I throw them back. And I don't mind kids coming in to retrieve balls either. And I most certainly will never go down the legal route or call the gardai about balls coming into my garden.
 
Is splitting the ball a good example to young folk from presumably an adult? I think you might be inviting retaliation.
 
Is splitting the ball a good example to young folk from presumably an adult? I think you might be inviting retaliation.
The option taken following...

A. Asking them to use an adjacent area - where they wouldn't bother anyone.
B. With A. having been ignored - and them continuing to enter my property without consent (knowing that they don't have my consent), I asked them again to use the adjacent area.
C. With A & B having been ignored, on the next occasion, I told them the ball simply wouldn't be coming back - that was met with a crisp bag being fired into my garden.
I think you might be inviting retaliation.
Already acknowledged.
However, no clearcut way of dealing with this has emerged in this thread. Bronte doesn't mind kids coming onto his property or knocking on the door every few minutes for same. Maybe a higher class of citizen in his area. In mine, 95% are so. The 5% include 2 with a history of low level criminal activity (to supplement their SW) -direct thievery from ordinary decent people in the case of one - and the other is happy to fence stuff on). 4 of kids concerned at the time belonged to those 2 families. Luckily the more potent of the two has been evicted since (and btw that was a sw/ras scheme rental - so as you can imagine, there had to be serious problems for that to culminate in eviction).
However, boundaries have to be established with these people...which reminds me - I had an item stolen from the bottom of the stairs (left door open as I went back into the house to get something I'd forgotten before leaving) by one of these brats a few years ago.
 
Bronte doesn't mind kids coming onto his property or knocking on the door every few minutes for same.

However, boundaries have to be established with these people

.

Ahh comn now I wouldn't like someone knocking at the door every 5 minutes, the kids were allowed climb over the wall themselves or come around the side, it was an unlocked gatte. The kids in your story must be woefull with a ball as retrieving it every 5 minutes is no joke, unless they were getting their kicks out of your reaction.

I agree with you about boundaries, and I don't think your response was disproportionate. And if it were my children that ignored your request they would be in serious trouble with me.
 
And if it were my children that ignored your request they would be in serious trouble with me.

This is the crux of the matter,in my opinion. There are parents,unfortunately who never check to see what their children are at,on the street, and/or actively encourage them to disrespect the property of others whether it is damage to cars/ trespass in gardens or whatever.
 
This is the crux of the matter,in my opinion. There are parents,unfortunately who never check to see what their children are at,on the street, and/or actively encourage them to disrespect the property of others whether it is damage to cars/ trespass in gardens or whatever.
spot on.

@Bronte: wasn't kicking the point you made. It was just clear that people view the subject in the context of what their expectation would be where they live. However, mileage will vary dependent upon the..(for want of a better word..) 'pedigree' of the little individuals concerned. :) That's why I provided some specifics for my own scenario.
 
There are parents actively encourage them to disrespect the property of others whether it is damage to cars/ trespass in gardens or whatever.

This kind of thinking I don't get. I've seen it though. And the problem is how does a citizen tackle this as one is afraid of repercussions. The closest I came to it was in a lift in Dunnes in Limerick, a women had a child with her, definitely a gurrier as they say, wanted to press the buttom to open the doors constantly. Despite myself and other women wanting to return to the parking. None of us said anything, the other women knew we wouldn't. The threat was there by the look of her. So we just waited and ignored. I know if my OH or another man had been there it would have been a different story. But I was with my elderly mother, didn't want them coming after us, scratching our car or whatever. What do you do then? I don't know.
 
Back
Top