A heavily pregnant woman says she can no longer get her buggy out of the house after neighbours built a new fence in the middle of their garden. Lorraine Smith says the new fence is also an obstruction for her elderly grandparents.
The mum-to-be, who regularly stays at her grandparent's home where she helps to care for them, says the fence has left her without access to their back garden and gate. Shje says the older couple now have difficulty using the steps.
The elderly couple gave their neighbours half the money towards the fence, but did not realise where it would be built. Lorraine says her grandparents have been told to "deal with it," reports EdinburghLive.
Lorraine said: "The neighbours haven't even been living here for a year but my nana, who is 78, has lived there since she was 15. As it's an old coal mine house, the back garden is communal and so are the steps at the back of the property. When they moved in last August they were told that it was a communal garden and was split in half so anything that they wanted to build had to be put in a letter to my grandparents.
"Last Thursday I came to the house and saw the joiner building the fence. When the neighbours were planning on building it, they told my grandparents but did not say that it would take up one metre of their land.
The 6ft fence has been built across the communal steps. (Image: Supplied)
"They said they wanted their own privacy and couldn't understand why it was a communal area anyway. My grandparents said that was fine, but now their access has been completely restricted.
"When the joiner was building it, I went and knocked on their door but funnily enough nobody was in. Later that night, I knocked again and they told me I was just looking for an argument and that the fence was built so I'd have to deal with it."
Lorraine says she will not be able to get out of the garden with her pram. (Image: Supplied)
If the council are content with the fence being a permitted development then it would not have required planning permission.
Lorraine said: "They have literally taken up half of the steps with the fence and built their own, which makes no sense. They also charged my grandparents £600 for the fence.
"I'm getting advice from a lawyer and they are drafting up a letter to inform the family that the fence has to be moved further towards their porch or taken down.
"My nana is in tears due to the whole situation and it's so sickening as they have lived here their whole lives. I have tried to speak with the neighbours again but they basically slammed the door in my face.
"They asked why I would need access with a pram to the garden but that's nothing to do with them and it saves me walking all the way around to get access to the park."
A spokesperson for the City of Edinburgh Council said: "We are aware of this incident and are looking into it."
One of the neighbours next door to Lorraine's grandparents declined to comment after being approached by Edinburgh Live.
