'I let my neighbours use our hose, and then they took things too far'

The Aussie mum didn't think much of it until she looked out the window and caught her neighbours mid-act. 

It's all part of the Aussie culture. That "no worries mate, I'll help ya out" attitude. Especially when it comes to your neighbours. 

"Yeah sure, you can pop that extra stuff in my bins..."

"Of course, I'll collect your mail while you're away..."

"Ah, I can quickly mow your side of the lawn too..."

Mateship. It's what us Aussies do best.

But what about when people take your relaxed generosity a little too far? That's the dilemma mum Sarah has recently faced after letting her new neighbours use her garden hose. 

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"I let my neighbours use our hose..."

Taking to TikTok - the place plenty of mums go to when they need to have a good vent - Sarah (@dreamwithsarah) shared a little story about what happened recently in her street, which left her "genuinely gobsmacked". 

"When we first moved into this house, our neighbours knocked on our door and asked us if it would be OK to use our hose," she shares on the platform, which has amassed 78K eyeballs. 

She goes on to explain that the hose is a retractable unit that is screwed to the side of their house and at the time, was of course fine with them using it. Mateship, remember? 

The only condition she gave them was that they put it back nicely after each use. 

Image: TikTok / @dreamwithsarah

Putting it back wasn't the issue, however. It was the fact that they kept on using it - and Sarah's water - for things other than "something normal" like filling up a bucket or watering their front garden, which she thought would be the reason for them to have a lend. 

After living in their new digs for six months, the mum was surprised to catch her neighbours using the hose... to shower. 

"Fully showering, like I'm talking brought out the front on their driveway shampoo and conditioner and soap... Are they just taking the piss?" she asked her followers. 

Short summary of their responses is, yes.

@dreamwithsarah

Neighbours, if you follow me on TikTok and you see this, are you ok? #weirdneighbours

♬ original sound - Sarah | Toddler + Twin mama

Most people were equally shocked at the mum catching her neighbours mid-act. 

"That's the problem with being too nice, some people take advantage," one person commented. 

"You're paying for someone else to use your water," added another. 

And another person agreed: "They are 100% taking advantage of you."

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What would you do? 

The comments kept coming with plenty of advice thrown the shocked mother's way.

"Tell them your water bills have gone up a lot and say that times are tough and fortunately you can’t have them using your hose any longer… then you get the tap changed …" one person suggested. 

Others recommended just going all-out passive-aggressive on her neighbour and removing the tap completely.

"Remove the hose and if they question why tell them you are not willing to pay for their households water," one person advised. 

"Unfortunately you need to remove the hose from where it is. Secondly go over to their's and use her oven," another suggested. 

And that's exactly what she did. Well, not use their oven, but remove the hose.

Surprised by the attention her online vent received, Sarah, while thanking all the people who recommended she do so, gave an update on the platform informing everyone that she had now removed the entire unit and it's now sitting safely in the backyard. Where no one other than her own family can use it. 

Originally published as 'I let my neighbours use our hose, and then they took things too far'