Brazen Trespasser squares up to pensioner neighbour - what deterrents can I use

CBYR1983

I have a problem with a scumbag who likes to use my side entrance, which has an 8ft high door, as a short-cut.

I live in an end of terrace house. There are separate side entrances to my neighbour's house and my house, separated by a hedge. At the end of my side entrance there is a stone surround and within it I have a heavy sturdy wooden fire door with two bolts on the inside and both are pad-locked.

The stone surround (lintel above door) attaches to my neighbours house extension which effectively closes off his side entrance. His extension has a flat roof and is about 8-9ft high as well.

Separately, at the rear of the house is a road into a residential cul de sac. The wall is about 10ft from my side but only 8ft from the far side. To make matters worse, there is a small ESB box at the back of my rear wall about 2ft high which provides a perfect launch pad for anyone trying to get over the wall. I saw a girl of about 10 playing on the wall one day. The rear wall is old stone. On one side of the garden I have a shed with a corrugated roof.

At one stage somebody vaulted my side gate, looked around and then took a crap in my back garden. Another neighbour saw him and it was clear he came from the front. So I decided to put up a simple trellis to deter someone from vaulting on that side. I extended all the way across my neighbours extension, but needed two pieces of trellis, both secured with raw plugs and a number of large screws.

For a long time I had no issue. Then one day my wife is on her own in the house. Some junkie decides to vault the rear wall, rattle along the corrugated roof of the shed, balance along the side wall with the neighbour, onto the neighbour's flat roof extension and somehow skip over the trellis without removing it and clatter to the ground below before legging it out the front gate of my neighbour's house. The wife goes to the front door and shouts at him - seems clear he was just taking a shortcut, smackbag.



So to now. Three days ago I notice the piece of trellis has been removed from my neighbour's side and left on his roof. Raw plugs and all pulled out. I go home at lunch yesterday, talk to elderly neighbour, he doesn't know how it could have happened, I secure it again with larger screws.

Asleep in bed last night, at 1am call on phone from neighbour. Terrorised out of his wits. The bloke is back and has ripped the bloody trellis off the wall again. Neighbour, a night owl, opens front door and shouts at him and he turns back and brazenly faces him before heading off. Monkey hat on.
So I need more deterrents here.

Has anyone any experience on this type of stuff. I want to have deterrents but don't want the place to look like a prison. I also want to be able to sell the place in the future and wouldn't want a would-be buyer to be perturbed.

Also want to avoid claims from other neighbours that I am devaluing their properties by putting up deterrents on the back wall of my house and my elderly neighbours house.

So wondering if I go with:

- Barbed Wire
- Secure metal fencing with spikes
- Random Thought - High Clear Perspex crossing the space between the houses above the side gate and secured to the walls of each house (probably be able to kick it down)
- Additional PIR Lighting
- Grease


I'll take a few pics later and attach. All and any ideas welcomed.