Damages awarded after school's balls land in garden

Balls repeatedly kicked over a fence from a school into a neighbouring property's garden were a nuisance, a High Court judge has found.

Mohamed and Marie-Anne Bakhaty were awarded damages after bringing a legal claim against Hampshire County Council regarding the footballs from Westgate All Through School in Winchester.

Mrs Bakhaty told the court in a witness statement that about 170 balls came over the fence over a period of 11 months.

But High Court Judge Philip Glen, sitting in Southampton, did not grant an injunction stopping the use of the all-weather play area.

The play area, built in 2021, is parallel to, and about 2m (6.6ft) from the boundary of the Bakhaty's house, which has a large garden and swimming pool.

They are separated by a 1.8m (5.9ft) wooden fence.

In his written ruling Judge Glen 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 did not give rise to "actionable nuisance", the "frequent projection of balls over the boundary" from the play area was a nuisance.

He ordered the council to pay the Bakhatys £1,000 in damages when there was "excess use" of the area, and when "significant numbers of balls were crossing the boundary fence".

He said he was satisfied that the noise from the school, with or without the play area, was "substantial, in the sense of not being trivial or transient", and that a substantial number of balls crossed the boundary fence before measures were put in place in 2022.

The headteacher of the school wrote to the couple to offer to fence off the area to create a buffer zone, put up a ball net, and restrict use of the area at certain times of the day.

The couple did not respond, but the school took action anyway.

Judge Glen added: "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 he did not consider that the defendant "threatens and intends" to "continue the nuisance".

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