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Topics: UK News, Social media, Real Life, Life
Poppy Bilderbeck
A homeowner has spoken out after facing backlash from neighbours and people online for turning her front garden into a parking lot.
Ah, another good old neighbour wars - the battle of the gardens as seen in Gnomeo and Juliet becoming a reality for one woman in Greater Manchester.
However, rather than trying to outdo her neighbours with funny little statues or overflowing flower beds to make her front porch the nicest on the street, one Bolton resident decided to bulldoze through and turn the area into a parking lot.
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One passerby was so outraged by the sight they took to Twitter to share images of the front garden far and wide and the Mancunion has faced a fair bit of backlash online for her refurbishing.
One Twitter user said: "What is it with these hideous grey monstrosities, someone in my village painted their entire front and back garden grey, it's god awful, no life in them at all."
"They changed it from cute, if a little dated, with a nice garden, to 'badly converted spa'. It's vandalism," another added.
A third commented: "Why would anyone get rid of that beautiful garden and replace with concrete just to save parking outside the neighbours house? All those pollinators gone, mature tree gone, natural drainage gone all the character of the property gone just for parking space?"
The homeowner has since addressed her controversial decision to turn her front garden into a parking lot.
Speaking to the MailOnline, she argues the photographs of the lot make it 'look a lot worse than it actually is'.
"The way the pictures have been taken, it looks like its a massive area but its actually not," she added.
Responding to environmentalists who've condemned her for cutting down a tree, the woman continued: "The tree came down because my roof was leaking in and the moss. It's been there five years before I got here.
"I actually trimmed the tree at first but then when it was trimmed down all the birds started landing on it and then all this area below was full of bird crap. So, I can't win."
She argues there isn't actually any wildlife on the road at all anyway because she lives on a main road.
"Just because I cut a tree down there's been a big uproar about it. For god's sake just leave me alone," she said.
The homeowner - a nurse - also notes she doesn't have time to garden as is rarely at home and doesn't have the money to pay a gardener either.
And she's now attempting to sell the property, hoping the online backlash doesn't jeopardise it being taken off her hands.