Moment 'bullying' family use chainsaws to hack down their neighbour's 33ft Leylandii trees and wooden fence after 'invading' their garden in eight-year boundary dispute

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:17, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 14:17, 22 July 2026 A 'bullying' family filmed themselves taking a chainsaw to their neighbours' trees and fence as part of an eight-year boundary dispute that ended in a High Court battle and £209,000 legal bill.  Building boss Robert McCarthy, 59, and wife Amanda, 61, had lived in their quiet corner of Nazeing, Essex, for years before a row erupted that would culminate in their neighbours taking the handheld machine to the fence and hacking down dozens of Leylandii trees. The couple have now told the Daily Mail of their years of 'hell' after their rear-neighbours 'decided they actually had a secret garden - it was our garden'. When the Mail visited the picturesque village amid scorching temperatures last week, there was little outward sign anything was amiss. But upon stepping out into the McCarthys' otherwise well-kempt garden, the missing fence panels, ragged boundary covered in weeds and the final lonesome, lopsided-looking tree told its own tale. After moving in to the property in 2001 with their two children, the couple initially got on well with the owners of the home backing onto their garden: Foulla Bowler, 61, who lives there with her family, and her siblings and co-owners John Barberis, 63, and Mary Englishby, 59. But 17 years later, shortly after the McCarthys purchased a small plot of land which adjoined their garden, the family suddenly claimed to own a large portion of land beyond their garden fence. This pizza-shaped slice of land encompassed a significant part of the McCarthys garden, as well as their fence panels, almost 30 Leylandii trees and a strip of their garden beyond it. A contractor is seen through Robert and Amanda McCarthy's window chopping down their trees with a chainsaw The neighbouring family later erected a makeshift yellow plastic fence after destroying the existing fence and tree boundary Building boss Robert McCarthy, 59, and wife Amanda, 61, had lived in their quiet corner of Nazeing, Essex, for years before the row erupted Foulla Bowler, 61, and her siblings and co-owners John Barberis, 63, and Mary Englishby, 59, launched a claim to land owned by the McCarthys (Pictured: Blue line shows the existing boundary, red line shows what the siblings claimed the boundary should be) The McCarthys neighbours filmed themselves cutting down the couple's fence with a chainsaw and submitted it to the court It was found in court that Foulla Bowler, 61, and John Barberis, 63, trespassed on their neighbours' land Their claim over the territory was recently dismissed by a judge, who also landed the siblings - who he described as 'high-handed' and 'bullying' - with a £209,000 legal bill. Mrs McCarthy told the Daily Mail the stress of the ordeal left her close to a breakdown. 'It's been hell. I still can't believe they've done this, I can't get it out of my head.' She went on: 'They've lived here over 40 years, and after 37 years, they decide they've actually got a secret garden, which is our garden.  'It's a landgrab. They tried to take half our garden - it beggars belief.' Initially, the McCarthys say that their neighbours, who jointly own the £875,000 bungalow, made a claim to the land via the Land Registry, which they disputed. But as matters continued without resolution, the family escalated matters by harassing the McCarthys, filming their antics and ultimately hacking down the boundary between their two gardens themselves - before trying to charge them more than £50,000. Astonishing video footage, submitted as evidence in the siblings' defence at court, shows the brazen antics of various relatives and their contractors, including filming themselves taking a chainsaw to the fence between the two gardens to rip it down. During the McCarthys eight-year ordeal their neighbours took a chainsaw to their fence panels and ripped them down The McCarthys' garden had no visibly privacy screen or fence line when the Daily Mail visited this month (left), compared to a thick wall of trees in previous years (right) After cutting down the trees, huge piles of logs were left on the ground - according to the McCarthys, these were later burnt They were later seen hacking at the posts with a large handsaw. The row came to a head on March 3, 2020, and again on January 6, 2022 when Mrs McCarthy arrived home to find a firm hired by her neighbours in her garden, ripping down their Leylandii trees with a chainsaw.  'It was a terrible day,' she said, describing the initial felling. 'I'd just finished work, and I'd come in the front door and my children said "they're cutting the trees down, we don't want you to see". 'I jumped in the car, I went round to see who the tree surgeon was and tried to get the number off the van, because I thought they shouldn't be doing this if there's a dispute.' She said that as she took a photo of the van on the driveway, one family member came out of the house and accused her of 'stalking'. After phoning the police, the couple tried to speak to the contractor in their garden and explain the trees were a matter of dispute, and should not be touched. But the contractor continued slashing down the trees, and by the end of the day in 2022, 27 of the 28 plants were gone. The couple said that despite police initially assuring them officers were en-route, no-one appeared. The next day, Mr McCarthy followed up with Essex Police, only to be told it was a civil matter and no further action would be taken. The McCarthys' otherwise immaculate garden has been without a proper boundary for six years Fence panels were left abandoned after being sawn through, the McCarthys said When The Daily Mail visited last week, there were holes and an empty frame where part of the couple's fence should lie Boundary and property disputes are typically civil matters, meaning police forces have no legal authority to exercise powers.  A huge pile of logs was left abandoned on the grass. Asked what happened to these, Mr McCarthy said: 'The beauty of it, they used our trees to heat their house with their log oven.' Once the couple's privacy sheet was removed, the siblings 'could see right into our kitchen', they said. They told the Mail the family would deliberately spray weed killer weekly over the area, which killed their garden plants, sit outside looking into the property and frequently film any interactions between the two households. Mr and Mrs McCarthy said their children were shouted at and abused with slurs by those connected with the property, and were unable to have friends and guests round due to the lack of privacy. 'As soon as we would walk out the door, because they could see in, as soon as we walked out they would shout out, "get off my land, get off my land",' Mr McCarthy said. The couple repeatedly tried to get Ms Bowler and her siblings to attend mediation to end the dispute, but say the family further used this as a means to increase their legal bill - while the siblings themselves remained unrepresented until court proceedings. After finally agreeing to it after 'eight or nine' requests, the McCarthys claim their neighbours deliberately dragged out proceedings and then, after an agreement was reached in which a new boundary would be set at a halfway point on the disputed land, reneged on it. 'They suddenly said they wanted £55,000,' Mrs McCarthy said. After this, the couple took their neighbours to court, where they won a resounding victory earlier this year.   Judge Alan Saggerson ruled the trio had 'trespassed' into the McCarthys garden and taken 'unilateral action to re-order the disputed boundary', after the couple told how their actions amounted to 'systematic destruction' and an 'invasion'. The judge added: 'It seems clear to me that the claimants have been victimised by high-handed, oppressive behaviour. It goes way beyond the ordinary course of trespass.' The couple are now questioning why councils do not take firm action earlier or become actively involved in property disputes, to prevent prolonged battles which end up in the courts.  Looking back at their ordeal, Mrs McCarthy told how her mental health seriously suffered. 'I was close to a breakdown. We considered moving. I just hate the house now - and I hate that.' The Daily Mail attended Ms Bowler's property for comment.