Homeowner ordered to chop down hedge after two year battle with neighbours who moaned it ruined their sea view

A COUPLE have been ordered to trim their hedge after being taken to court for blocking their neighbours’ sea view.

Allison and Jason Cunial will now have to prune the offending shrubbery regularly after fellow residents of Ocean Shores, Australia, complained.

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Catherine L’Estrange and Louise-Anne Louw brought the case through the New South Wales Land and Environment Court, saying that their view of the coastline had been blocked by the hedge.

The Cunials denied the claim that they failed to keep the greenery in order and that it was obstructive.

They also alleged that it was vital to maintaining privacy and shading them from the sun.

However, Acting Commissioner David Galwey sided with L’Estrange and Louw, who told the court that the Cunials had only trimmed the hedge after receiving legal letters.

On Tuesday, Galwey ruled: “When I consider these factors together — the value of the view, the extent to which it is obstructed, and the high-use areas from which it was available — I find that trees in the hedge cause a severe obstruction of the applicants’ view.

“It seems to me that the parties could have reached a reasonable agreement providing for both the respondents’ privacy and the applicants’ views.

“Although the respondents expressed a commitment to do so in future, their unwillingness to do so until now, sways me toward making orders for maintaining the hedge’s height.”

He ordered the Cunials to employ a contractor in February and August each year to bring the hedge below a maximum height of 12ft 4in.

They must also ensure no branches hang over the boundary between properties and provide one week’s notice of the work, which must take place during reasonable daytime hours.

It comes after a dad had his finger bitten off by a nightmare neighbour in a row over a privacy fence, only for police dogs to find it days later.

Meanwhile, another homeowner revealed how they got the last laugh after their neighbours forced them to build a new fence in their garden.