A controversial mysterious fence blocking a footpath was torn down just hours later and sparked a fight between neighbors.
Residents of Harleston, Norfolk, were left stunned when the 6ft barrier was put up at around 5pm on June 6, blocking access to the public right of way on Tudor Rose Way.
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The path is used as a shortcut by hundreds of locals, many of whom shared their anger at the sudden and inexplicable obstacle that blocked their path home.
But their anger subsided when, according to a witness, the fence was torn down by a mysterious thug with a hammer just hours after it was erected.
A resident who lives nearby says she unfairly bore the brunt of local wrath and was called a “fascist” by a shouting man who likely blamed her after the fence went up.
The mystery surrounding its sudden appearance was resolved when housing association Hastoe Housing admitted its construction at the request of some residents to try and curb “loitering and anti-social behaviour”.
The fence, which blocked access to a large parking lot, was up for less than five hours before being torn down.
Norfolk County Council bosses have agreed that it should never have been built in the first place, meaning it will not be replaced.
Residents who opposed the fence are still furious and called it “a joke that shouldn’t have happened.”
Tanning shop owner Noor Hussain, 30, who lives two doors down the path, was outraged when he saw contractors putting the finishing touches on the barrier last week.
He said: “I was walking home from work and was shocked because a fence was right across the way.
“The contractors told me they were doing the work for the housing association at the request of local residents, but everyone I spoke to was against it.
“We have people with disabilities who live nearby and who depend on using the path to get to the Cooperative and other stores. If the fence had remained, they would have had to take a ten-minute detour around the block.”
Noor was so upset that he created a petition calling for the fence to be removed.
It quickly collected more than 100 signatures.
He said he was in his room overlooking the parking lot when he saw the fence being torn down by a mysterious man who arrived at the parking lot in a pickup truck.
Noor added: “I heard banging and looked to see a guy going into town with a hammer. It was hilarious.
“He hammered all the slats of the fence so people could get through and then left again.
“Someone called the police and they arrived with blue lights flashing a few minutes later and started running around knocking on doors trying to find out what had happened.
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“It was crazy.
“Personally, I couldn’t be happier that the fence is gone. He would have upset a lot of people if he had stayed.
“I just hope it doesn’t come back again.”
Noor said he believes the fence was erected after complaints from a family who lives near the parking lot entrance, who didn’t like the constant flow of people passing by their home.
But the woman who lives in the house denied to The Sun that she had demanded the fence be put up.
The mother of five, who asked not to be named, said: “People have a vendetta against us. They think we were the ones who requested the fence, but we didn’t.
“We’ve had eggs thrown at our house in the past and we’ve had to put up with a lot.
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“I’m sick of people taking shortcuts in our front yard instead of following the path, but that’s about it. We have no problems with people walking on the path.
“But when I got out of the car after work and the fence went up, this man started shouting at me, calling us all fascists.
“I contacted the police because people kept knocking on our door to try, thinking it was our fault. It was just a fence. It wasn’t like anyone died.”
Poultry caretaker Joseph Wimshurst, 23, who regularly walks the path on his way home, said he was shocked to see the fence suddenly appear.
He said: “I came this way because it is the easiest way and makes my journey a little shorter.
“But when I arrived here the other day, there was a fence blocking the way and there was a commotion with many people around.
“I do a lot of push-ups and I’m in good shape, so I just went up. I thought it was a stupid thing to build there.
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“I was brilliant when he was tackled. If it hadn’t happened, I would have done it myself.”
Keith Newby, 62, who lives around the corner, said: “I saw the fence blocking the pavement as it went up. It was just pathetic and ridiculous.
“There are a lot of elderly people here, and if I had stayed, I would have had to walk an extra ten minutes to the doctor’s office.
“I saw it after it fell. Only the horizontal bars remained, so that people could pass through. I thought someone was busy.
“Now it has been tidied up properly and is back to normal. I regularly pass by there when I go to the stores. The last thing I want is for him to come back.”
What is the law on garden fences?
YOU may be wondering how high a fence you can have in your garden without planning permission.
Despite what many people think that a garden fence can be up to 100m high, you need to obtain planning permission for any fence over 2m high.
Any fence less than 2m does not need planning permission. However, there are some complications with this.
If you are considering front garden fencing, restrictions dictate that fencing along a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission to put a truss on a 2m fence.
But, if any plant you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a license to grow the plant.
Fence height is measured from ground level, which can have an impact when, due to the slopes of the land, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours.
You also need to consider whether a fence borders a public footpath, as there are laws in place that prohibit certain types of fences, such as barbed wire fences, as these pose a possible threat to people passing by.
A man who lives just a few meters from the path said: “Children use the path to walk to school, as well as for shopping and for people going to and from work. There must be hundreds of people using it every day.
“I have terminal cancer, so my walking is restricted. It’s very important for me to be able to walk there because I can’t walk much.
“When I was locked down, I couldn’t come back from shopping. We got a letter a few weeks before saying the work would be done, but I didn’t really understand it.
“I thought they were just going to renew some panels and I didn’t realize they were going to extend the fence along the way.”
Luthfur Rahman, 36, who owns the Taste of Raj restaurant in Harleston and lives near the path, said: “I was in London for a few days and came back to see the fence had gone up.
“I didn’t like it at all. There are so many people using the path to get to the parking lot and stores and it was blocked.
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“The path is very practical and I think it’s been here for about 30 years, and it was here before the houses were built.
“I haven’t noticed any anti-social behavior around here. Sometimes there are young people making noise in the parking lot, but it doesn’t affect us much.”
A shopper who gave her name only as Karen, 67, said: “I saw news about the fence on Facebook and had to tell my dad because he uses a scooter.
“I thought if he had to take the long way to the stores, he might end up with a dead battery. I breathed a sigh of relief when he came down. It’s very useful to stop by.”
Norfolk County Council confirmed it has removed the remains of the fence to allow safe access to the path.
A spokesperson for Norfolk County Council told The Sun: “This link path is an adopted highway and as such should not have been obstructed.
“Working with the city council, we can confirm that the fence has been removed and the area has been made safe.”
Norfolk Police confirmed that officers were called to the scene shortly before 10pm on Thursday last week after it was reported that the structure had been damaged.
A spokeswoman for the force previously said investigations were “ongoing” following the incident.
A spokesperson for Hastoe Housing previously said: “The fence has been removed but was put in place at the request of residents in order to prevent loitering and anti-social behavior in the area.
“We are now in contact with the local council to find an alternative way of managing the issue.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
