Latest news with #MarieAnneBakhaty
The Sun
19-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
‘Nuisance' kids who kick footballs over garden walls are breaking the LAW, High Court rules after couple sued next-door
KIDS who kick footballs over garden walls are breaking the law, the High Court has ruled, after a couple sued their next-door neighbours. Mohamed and Marie-Anne Bakhaty have been awarded damages after complaining that footballs from the neighbouring school were landing in their garden. 2 2 Balls being repeatedly kicked over a fence from a school into a neighbouring property's garden were a nuisance, a High Court judge has found. While the odd stray ball might be "annoying", the judge deemed the "frequent projection" of them onto someone else's land breaches common law. Mrs Bakhaty told the court in a witness statement that over a period of 11 months, some 170 balls fell into their garden. However, High Court Judge Philip Glen, sitting in Southampton, refused to grant an injunction stopping the use of the all-weather play area at Westgate All Through School in Winchester, Hampshire. In his written ruling on Monday, he said: "I recognise that they are extremely fond and proud of what is on any view a beautiful home. "I fear, however, that they have become sensitised by the noise from the school in a way which has caused them to become over-invested in their belief that they are victims of a wrong. In short, they have lost perspective." Judge Glen added that while use of the £36,000 all-weather play area does not give rise to "actionable nuisance", the "frequent projection of balls over the boundary" from the play area was a nuisance. He ordered Hampshire County Council to pay the Bakhatys £1,000 in damages for a period of time when there was "excess use" of the all-weather play area, and when "significant numbers of balls were crossing the boundary fence". Judge Glen continued:" I am satisfied that the noise from the school, with or without the all-weather play area, amounts to a substantial, in the sense of not being trivial or transient, interference with the ordinary user by the claimants of St Anns. "I am also satisfied that the substantial number of balls crossing the boundary fence prior to the 2022 mitigations falls into the same category." The all-weather play area is parallel to, and about two metres from the boundary of the Bakhatys's house - St Anns, Links Road in the Fulflood - and the boundary itself is marked by a 1.8m close boarded fence. It was built in 2021, and in July 2022 the headteacher of the school wrote to the couple to offer to fence off the area to create a buffer zone, to put up a ball net over the area, and restrict use of the area to up until 4.15pm on a school day. Although the couple did not respond, the measures were put in place. Judge Glen said in his judgment: "There can also in my judgment be no objection to the use by the school of the area presently fenced off behind the all-weather play area for structured activities such as natural history lessons. "Indeed, if a net was erected to prevent balls, and other objects, from crossing the boundary fence, I cannot necessarily see that there could be any real objection to opening this area up altogether." He also said: "I do not consider that the defendant 'threatens and intends' to continue the nuisance that I have found existed, albeit that they would have liked in other circumstances to have done so."
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Telegraph
Couple win £1,000 payout over footballs kicked into garden of their £2m home
A wealthy couple have been awarded a £1,000 payout after 170 footballs were kicked into their garden from a neighbouring school. Mohamed and Marie-Anne Bakhaty said the balls and noise from an all-weather play area by their £2 million home in Winchester meant they could no longer use their swimming pool and were forced to cancel their annual summer party because of the 'nuisance'. The couple took the matter to a High Court judge, seeking an injunction prohibiting the use of the £36,000 play area. The judge ruled that repeatedly kicking football over a neighbour's fence and into their garden is 'a nuisance'. While occasional stray balls might be annoying, the 'frequent projection' of them onto someone else's property breaches common law, he added. Mrs Bakhaty, a 66-year-old company director, claimed the sports pitch had 'overtaken my life'. Mr Bakhaty, a 77-year-old property developer, claimed the school 'deliberately' built it to 'upset' the couple. Judge Philip Glen ruled that the footballs were creating a 'nuisance' for the couple and that there was a period when a 'significant' number were landing in the garden of their home. 'Lost perspective' However, while he awarded the Bakhatys £1,000 in damages, he said they had ultimately 'lost perspective' and become 'over-invested' in their belief that they were 'victims of a wrong'. The court, sitting in Southampton, heard that Mr and Mrs Bakhaty moved into their home in the Fulflood district of the cathedral city in 1994. The property neighbours The Westgate School. In 2021, money was raised to transform a grassed playground at the school into an all-weather play area. The area, marked as a five-a-side football pitch, is surrounded by a green wired fence and is around two metres from the boundary of the couple's home. The judge noted that the pitch was not only used during the week but also at weekends because the school rents it out to external organisations. In October 2022, Mr and Mrs Bakhaty issued a High Court claim against Hampshire county council, alleging the noise and escape of footballs amounted to 'a common law nuisance'. Mrs Bakhaty estimated that 170 balls dropped into the garden over an 11-month period and said she could no longer use either her pool or summerhouse. The judge said that when he made a site visit to the house, some 20 footballs lined the flowerbeds of the garden. However, the school put a net over the pitch to prevent balls going astray in July 2022, and the interference had been reduced since then, he added. 'The occasional ball over the fence since that time, something common to many gardens, whilst annoying is not at a sufficient level to be a substantial interference,' he found. Injunction not appropriate In light of these comments, Judge Glen said it would not be appropriate to grant an injunction. But he ordered the council to pay the couple £1,000 in damages for the period in which there was 'excessive use' of the play area and when significant numbers of balls were crossing the boundary fence. He ruled that the use of the pitch by third parties outside of school hours was not done 'conveniently' and was 'therefore a nuisance to that extent', adding that 'the frequent projection of balls' from the pitch was 'a nuisance'. But, he said of the couple's complaint: 'I fear, however, that they have become sensitised by the noise from the school in a way which has caused them to become over-invested in their belief that they are victims of a wrong. In short, they have lost perspective.'
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- The Guardian
Couple successfully sue council over school's footballs landing in garden of £2m home
Many a child has experienced the anxiety of knocking on a frustrated neighbour's door to ask for their ball back. But one couple in Hampshire have become so exasperated by the seemingly endless stream of footballs landing in the garden of their £2m home from a nearby school they have successfully sued the county council. The high court, sitting in Southampton, ruled that repeatedly kicking footballs over a neighbour's fence and into their garden does constitute a nuisance. While occasional stray balls might be annoying, the frequent projection of them on to someone else's property breaches common law, a judge has said. However, the judge also ruled that the couple had lost perspective and refused to prohibit use of the football pitch. Mohamed and Marie-Anne Bakhaty made a complaint about the footballs landing at a rate of one every other day into their Winchester garden from the nearby Westgate school. The Bakhatys said the balls and noise from an all-weather play area meant they could no longer use their swimming pool and were forced to cancel their annual summer party because of the 'nuisance'. Marie-Anne, 66, a company director, and Mohamed, 77, a property developer, took the matter to a high court judge, seeking an injunction prohibiting the use of the £36,000 play area in Winchester. Mr Justice Glen ruled that the footballs were creating a nuisance for the couple and that there was a period when a significant number were landing in their garden. However, while he awarded them £1,000 in damages, he said the Bakhatys had lost perspective and become over-invested in their belief that they were 'victims of a wrong'. The court heard that in 2021, money was raised to transform a grass playground into an all-weather play area. Soon after it opened, the couple complained about the noise and footballs entering their garden. The couple sought legal advice and a letter was sent in 2022 to the school over the matter. Mitigations were then made, including the installation of a net over the top of the pitch to prevent balls going astray, which reduced the number of balls. Despite this, the couple issued a high court claim against Hampshire county council in October of 2022, alleging that the noise and escape of footballs amounted to a 'common law nuisance'. They claimed that the council had infringed their rights under article 8 and article 1 of the European convention on human rights. Mrs Bakhaty estimated that 170 balls dropped into their garden over an 11-month period. The judge said when he made a visit to the house, about 20 footballs lined the flower beds of the Bakhatys' garden. Lawyers representing the council argued the all-weather pitch was a valuable facility for the school and wider community. The judge agreed that the issue had been significantly reduced since the introduction of the mitigation measures, which also included restricting the use of the pitch to the school day until 4.15pm. Glen said it would not be appropriate to grant an injunction but ordered the council to pay the couple £1,000 in damages for the period in which there was 'excessive use' of the play area and when significant numbers of balls were crossing the boundary fence. He added: 'I fear, however, that they have become sensitised by the noise from the school in a way which has caused them to become over-invested in their belief that they are victims of a wrong. In short, they have lost perspective.' The couple declined to comment on the case. Hampshire county council has been approached for comment.
