Our neighbour’s Xmas lights are up 6 MONTHS early… it looks like Blackpool Illuminations & keeps us awake
A COUPLE has left their neighbours confused after decorating their garden with ‘Christmas lights’ in May – six months before the big day.
The garden of their three-bed semi-detached bungalow in Merseyside, has been lit up with hundreds of green and white bulbs.
The festive fairy lights have been hung across fence panels on either side of the neatly manicured garden and draped around a summerhouse.
Warmer hue illuminations have also been strung up over a patio area and dangled on trees.
Even shrubbery in some of the plant pots have been jazzed up with multi-coloured string lights.
Their next door neighbour was met with the merry sight when he looked out of his bedroom window last week.
He told The Sun: “They’ve put the exact same fairy lights up in their garden at Christmas every year for the last few years – but never this early before.
“I think May is just a tad too soon. Don’t get me wrong, everyone loves Christmas but it’s a bit bizarre. November is early enough for me.”
He thinks they might have put the string ‘Christmas’ lights up for the benefit of their grandchildren.
It has been a great source of amusement among the neighbourhood, he added.
“One of my other neighbours said it looks like Blackpool Illuminations at night.”
Traditionally, Christmas decorations should go up on the first day of Advent, which falls on December 1 this year – the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
It means the yule-loving couple are more than 180 days early with their festivities.
Long-held beliefs suggest it is unlucky to leave decorations up beyond the Twelfth Night, which falls around January 6.
Christmas lights could also be a fire hazard.
On average, around 770 fires are caused by Christmas lights annually, according to a 2020 report by the National Fire Protection Association.
How to resolve neighbour rows
First off, try resolving any neighbourly issue by talking to your neighbour, many problems can simply be sorted by having a polite and friendly chat.
If you have tried and failed to get a resolution you can then approach your local council.
Your local council can step in if the dispute involves any activity that is a nuisance or could damage your health.
To complain all you need to do is contact your local council, many have a specialist team to deal with disputes of this nature.
One of the most common neighbourly issues is excessive or unreasonable noise levels.
This can also cover artificial light or a build up of rubbish that could possibly cause harm.
Excessive amounts of any of the following could also be handled by the council:
- smell
- steam
- insects
- fumes
- dust
- smoke
- gases
Bare in mind that just because you find a noise or habit irritating, it does not mean your neighbour is causing a statutory nuisance.