‘The mystery neighbour messed with the wrong person’
A Christmas lover who received an angry letter from a neighbour about his two 20ft festive decorations has now put up a 16.5ft Grinch alongside an enlarged copy of the complaint.
Dave Goodings, a DJ business owner, accidentally ordered a 20ft inflatable Santa last year thinking it was actually only 4ft. The 31-year-old put it up anyway and says it drew crowds of people keen to get photos. As a result, he added another 20ft inflatable – this time a £179 snowman – on Sunday.
However, the former Capital FM presenter says he was astonished when he received an anonymous complaint through his letterbox in Chessington, Greater London.
In response, Dave placed a giant inflatable Grinch, standing at 16.5ft tall, on his driveway and printed the original complaint letter onto a large bedsheet which he then dangled from his window for the entire street to observe.
The disgruntled neighbour said in the letter that the “tacky” decorations “ruin the character of the road and they make the whole area look ridiculous”, before stating that they would be informing the council if they weren’t taken down.
The full complaint, which came in an envelope bearing no name or address, read: “To the occupier of this house. I live down the road and I am absolutely horrified by the giant Santa and giant snowman inflatables you have put outside your property.
“They look cheap, tacky and completely out of place in our quiet street. The inflatables are an eyesore, they ruin the character of the road and they make the whole area look ridiculous rather than the nice tidy street it usually is.”
It went on: “This is not a request, this is a formal complaint from someone who actually lives nearby. The display is offensive to the neighbourhood. It is ruining the view from our homes and it shows zero respect for the community.
“Please take them down immediately. If they are not removed at once I will be reporting the matter to the council and the residents association, and I will be urging others in the road to do the same. So, do the decent thing and bring them in before tonight! Regards, an unhappy neighbour.”
Dave said: “The funny thing is, it has made more people laugh because the letter is ridiculous and it has brought so much happiness to people. That is what Christmas is all about. The mystery neighbour messed with the wrong person.
“It has been the highlight of my year because my inflatables are more in demand than ever, which is the total opposite of what the letter was trying to achieve.”
Dave added that justice had officially been served, and that the person who wrote the letter was “too much of a coward to put their name on the letter.”
He said: “They’ve now become the laughing stock not just of everyone in the community, but the country and even the world.”
