12 September 2023 , 12:42
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A woman has been experiencing ongoing harassment from her neighbours - and now it's reached the next level. Posting about it online, she explained that after being annoyed by them to no end, they have now installed cameras. Not only will it record video, but she claims it will also pick up her private conversations.
She turned to the internet to ask for advice on how to best handle the situation. The woman wrote: "They have now installed a CCTC camera pointing into their garden but [sic] which has sound recording and is positioned right beside our fence so will record our private conversations." People were livid in the comments, with many offering her their thoughts on what she should do.
"Swear, swear and swear some more. Don't talk about them at all. Nothing wrong with swearing in your own garden!" one Mumsnet user wrote. "I'd be inclined to put some sort of hook on your fence, and buy a cheap bluetooth speaker you can hang on it. You can play white noise when you're out in the garden. If the speaker is close to the camera than you are, it might drown out your conversation. Or you could play heavy metal music!" wrote another.
A third added: "Start wailing Kate Bush bangers at the top of your voice every time you go in the garden." While the original poster appreciated the advice, she commented again to clarify that she was wondering if there was anything she could do legally.
Sadly, not many people knew what she could do from a legal standpoint. "I don't believe that there's anything you can do, no," a commenter wrote. "The Office of the Information Commissioner has advice on its website about this," another said. Even though people weren't able to provide much help on this front, they continued to offer her other ideas.
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Some people suggested she played white noise or annoying sounds, even when she's not in the garden, and others voted for windchimes. "Just noticed she has taken her own wind chimes down as they obviously must be triggering the audio on the camera," the original poster commented. "Three guesses what I'm away to buy!! Thank you for the genius suggestion!!!"
According to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), people have the right to install CCTV cameras and smart doorbells on their property. While they should try to point cameras away from neighbours' homes and gardens, if they don't, it's not illegal to do so. It states on the ICO website: "If you complain to us about a data protection issue about the use of domestic CCTV, and we believe a person broke the rules – we can write to them. In our letter, we may ask them to consider moving the cameras and to think about the privacy of others."