A man has been dubbed a ‘bully’ for threatening to call the police against a gardener for making ‘too much’ noise while clearing a wild overgrown lawn and bush.
Jason Selmes was working outside a house in Blacktown, western Sydney, when an irate neighbor in his thong and shorts came over to complain about the noise.
“Mate, I just moved from the area, how long are you going to do this?” asked the excited man.
The gardener said he had been working on the project for a few hours and it would probably take a few more hours to finish.
The grumpy neighbor then resorted to foul language. “You’ve been giving me a terrible headache all morning. You have to finish it,’ he said.
Selmes tried to nip the escalating argument in the bud by saying he could “mow lawns.”
‘It’s that simple. The neighbors have seen that this lawn is bad and no one has even bothered to come and help them,’ he said.
“Maybe if you helped, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
However, the neighbor was not guided by this logic and said, “Do you think I care?
“Let me tell you again, I’m going to be a nice guy, 15 minutes okay? Fifteen minutes before I call the police. I can’t have this all morning.
“So you’re staying here for another two hours?
Mr. Selmes again tried to convince the disgruntled man that there are no laws against daytime garden noise and so it is pointless to call the police.
“I get to mow lawns in the morning or any time of the day between reasonable hours,” he said.
‘Yes, reasonable!’ the neighbor replied unhappily.
Mr. Selmes, lacking patience, then made a last effort to calm the situation.
“I’m here to mow the lawn, I’m here to help someone, that’s all I do here,” he said.
However, it was all to no avail. The complaining neighbor still threatened to call the police.
‘I’ll call the police in fifteen minutes. You make up your own mind,’ he said.
Jason Selmes was working outside a house in Blacktown, 25 miles west of Sydney, when an irate neighbor (pictured behind Mr Selmes) walked up in his thongs and shorts to complain about the noise
The video (clip pictured) has been viewed about two million times since it was uploaded to various social media platforms last month, and has received thousands of comments
The gardener was finally at the end of his tether.
‘Then go call the police, I don’t really care. Bye!’ he said as he walked away from the pugnacious neighbor.
Mr Selmes said it was the first time he had received such a reaction.
“It took a year and a half before anyone complained about the noise. Oh, what’s he going to do? It’s not against the law.
Tough s*** as they say. I’m just here to get a job done and that’s it. People can be pretty weird, can’t they?’
The video has been viewed about two million times since it was uploaded to various social media platforms last month, and has received thousands of comments.
One commenter said the neighbor was “probably just jealous.” If the police had come, you probably would have been asked for a business card.
“Great job on the yard and put the muppet in place. What a total Karen!!’
Another said, “The slipper man was probably hungover and the sound hurt his hair.
“Either he was embarrassed because he knew he should help clean this up (but probably not) or he’s just a bully.
“Glad you didn’t back down, because you’re doing a fantastic job.”
There wasn’t much love for the neighbor in the comments, but one person took issue with Mr Selmes’ work, writing, ‘He’s working very inefficiently mowing that lawn. I wouldn’t take it.’
One commenter said the neighbor was “probably just jealous.” If the police had come, you probably would have been asked for a business card. The argument is displayed
One person did try to see it from the neighbour’s point of view, but eventually sided with the gardener.
“I don’t like the noise that cutting tools make,” they said. “Recently we heard a weed all morning and it annoyed me.
“But how on earth is he supposed to mow the lawn and clean the driveway and sidewalk without those noisy tools. You have to suck it up.
‘My question to him, how does he mow his lawn? You were respectful and professional. Good on you and well done.’