PC:BBC
A Hampshire couple who complained that footballs repeatedly landed in their garden from a neighbouring school have been awarded £1,000 in damages, but the High Court has refused to shut down the facility. Mohamed and Marie-Anne Bakhaty brought a claim against Hampshire County Council after around 170 footballs entered their garden over 11 months. The ruling therefore recognised the couple’s complaint about footballs entering their property without prohibiting the school from continuing to use the pitch.
The balls came from the all-weather pitch at Westgate All Through School in Winchester. Judge Philip Glen ruled that footballs frequently crossing the boundary fence amounted to a nuisance, although the use of the pitch itself did not constitute an actionable nuisance. High Court Judge Philip Glen, sitting in Southampton, ruled that the frequent projection of footballs over the boundary fence constituted a nuisance. However, he distinguished this from the use of the all-weather play area itself, which he found did not give rise to an actionable nuisance.
In his written judgment, Judge Glen said he recognised that the couple were “extremely fond and proud” of their home, describing it as “on any view a beautiful home”. He also expressed concern that their response to the dispute had become disproportionate, stating that they had “become sensitised by the noise from the school” and were “over-invested in their belief that they are victims of a wrong”. He concluded: “In short, they have lost perspective. ”
Why did a court award £1,000 in a school pitch nuisance case
He was satisfied that a substantial number of footballs had crossed the boundary before measures were introduced in 2022.
The judge ordered Hampshire County Council to pay the Bakhatys £1,000 in damages in circumstances involving “excess use” of the play area and “significant numbers of balls” crossing the boundary fence. Judge Glen also found that the noise from the school, whether or not the all-weather play area was in use, was “substantial, in the sense of not being trivial or transient”. The award reflected the nuisance associated with footballs repeatedly entering the couple’s property, rather than a finding that the school’s entire playing facility was unlawful. The ruling did not, however, establish that the school had to stop using the pitch to resolve the dispute.