A woman took a parenting forum to share her anger at finding two people she did not know making use of her garden to eat their dinner.
In a post on Mumsnet titled 'There are two strangers sat in my garden eating their dinner', she explained there is a “popular footpath” that passes through her property and people often believe her garden is fair game for a picnic, despite the land around the footpath being privately owned by her family.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, she wrote: “I've told them it's private property and not part of the footpath that passes next to it. Apparently they will be on their way soon.
“I've now chickened out of saying anything else but I'm passive aggressively watering the hanging baskets about 5m away from them and they are very deliberately not making eye contact with me.
“We have a popular footpath pass right next to the house and I think people assume our garden is some kind of public park due to the footpath. This is not the first time it's happened (I regularly joke about putting out some picnic benches and charging) but it's the first time they haven't moved when asked...”
The woman also offered some insight into why people always choose her garden to take a break in, as she said it’s the “first bit of proper shade” in the area.
She added: “It's weird, whenever people do it they always sit in virtually the exact same spot, in direct line of sight of the kitchen window.
“My theory is that it's the first bit of proper shade on the footpath for a few miles. But it's not even that sunny today.
“Or perhaps people just think because it's a farm they can sit where they like even if it is in front of my gooseberry patch.”
The forum post has garnered hundreds of replies, with commenters offering helpful tips to keep trespassers off the property in the future.
One wrote: “I think a private property sign on the footpath side of the cattle grid would help if not one there already.”
While another shared in her frustration, adding: “We used to get this frequently when I was growing up as lived on a very popular walking route. My brother and I started serving cream teas so if they wanted to sit down it cost them!”
And a third said: “Say you’re going to call the police if they don’t move on. Take a pic or video of them. Go inside and lock the door and call the police.”
