Frustrated vegan Cilla Carden is so fed up with her neighbours she has taken them to court over the smell of meat and smoke. Photo / Nine News
Frustrated vegan Cilla Carden is so fed up with her neighbours she has taken them to court over the smell of meat and smoke. Photo / Nine News
Frustrated vegan Cilla Carden is so fed up with her two neighbours she has taken them to court over the meat and smoke smells coming from their barbecue.
The Perth woman said she couldn't enjoy her backyard in the suburb of Girrawheen, claiming her neighbours deliberately allow their barbecue meat and fish smells to waft into her yard.
"They've put it there so I smell fish, all I can smell is fish … I can't go out there," Carden told Nine News.
Carden will continue to fight the battle, despite losing the case in court. Photo / Nine News
The massage therapist has been embroiled in a battle with Toan Vu, his wife and children since late 2018.
After her claims were rejected by a tribunal earlier this year on lack of evidence, she applied to the Supreme Court of Western Australia for right of appeal. It was also turned down in July.
Lawyer John Hammond said going to the Supreme Court was an "extreme option" — but it hadn't stopped Carden from further appealing the case.
She told Nine News she believed her neighbours were "absolutely deliberate" in allowing their smells to cross into her yard.
And it's not just the smell of meat and fish that has made her furious — it's the smell of cigarettes and the sound of children playing with basketballs.
"It's been devastating, it's been turmoil, it's been unrest, I haven't been able to sleep," Carden said.
Vu said he just wanted to "keep the peace" and had removed the barbecue out of his yard and also banned his children from playing basketball.
Carden also complained about the neighbour who lives on the other side of the Vu family.
The neighbour, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "Carden's demands were proven to be not reasonable and indeed were to the detriment of the other owners' ability to enjoy their lots in a reasonable and acceptable manner."
She also demanded the neighbour's children stop bouncing basketballs. Photo / Nine News
The legal battle isn't over as Carden vows to return to court to continue the fight against her neighbours.
Hammond said the first step in any dispute with your neighbours was to try and resolve the matter face-to-face.
"If you don't do it like that you're going to be up for a world of misery," he told Nine News.
Carden said she just wanted to live her life in peace.
Many have to taken to social media to weigh in on the debate, with some siding with Carden's complaints over the smell of cigarettes and burning wood.
"BBQ is a little too far, but the other things are important everyone has the right to quiet enjoyment of their living space," one Facebook user said.
"You're breathing in the concentrated smoke before your neighbours receive it. If you wonder why you are feeling unwell all the time — it's probably because you are burning everything else other than wood."
Toan Vu said he removed the barbecue in an effort to keep the peace. Photo / Nine News
Not everyone was compassionate. Many said Carden had no right to complain about barbecues while living in suburbia and had no right to stop children from playing in their own backyards.
"Lost for words. Can't stand kids playing basketball. What next. We should encourage kids to be playing outside. Maybe she needs to move to a property in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours," a Facebook user said.
"This goes far beyond veganism. She obviously has extremely bad nerves. Suburbia is clearly not for her," another added.
"This is the only time I'd call for compulsory national service. It's call communal living. Respecting your neighbours. It requires you to give up certain expectations. If you want that much freedom move to where there are no other people," another said.
