'Friendly neighbours left us floored after their intrusive act while we were away'

Having pleasant neighbours is priceless, and transforms the atmosphere of living in your home into something far more enjoyable.

Someone you can depend on to collect your deliveries when you're out, and who will acknowledge you with a friendly greeting when you cross paths, is ideal.

However, one man was left baffled when his neighbours appeared to cross boundaries whilst he was away from home.

He revealed on Reddit that he and his wife have "recently moved to a nice community" and "love" their neighbours, describing them as "warm and friendly people," though he did mention that occasionally they can appear rather "intrusive".

He clarified: "When I say I intrusive, I'm referring to them always coming out when we are in the yard and commenting on what we are doing, making it feel as though we don't have privacy in our home or yard because they seem to always know when we come and go and have something to say about it.

"If I'm grilling a steak they will come out and comment on how good it smells, etc. It gets a bit annoying not to just be able to enjoy our space in peace, even though they are friendly it's not always welcomed."

Nevertheless, he did mention the neighbours had released their dog while they were absent, and they'd reciprocated - so they weren't opposed to conversing with them.

Yet after they departed on a five-day break, they were left perplexed by something the neighbours had done. He wrote on Reddit: "This past week we took a 5 day vacation and when we returned the lady neighbour came over and handed me our mail. Stating, 'Welcome home! I collected your mail for you while you were away'.

"I was shocked. It was only a few pieces, and we have a big mailbox, so it wasn't like it was overflowing. Never has anyone collected our mail for us, and certainly not without permission.

"We did not ask them to do this. Initially, I was caught off guard and dismissed it as her being overly friendly and caring, but it just doesn't sit well with me. We frequently have medications delivered and also sensitive legal documents for work, and I had always assumed no one would ever tamper with our mailbox until now.

"How would a sane person interpret this situation, and what might they do to communicate in a non-(stay the f*** out of my mail box) way, that I don't want them collecting our mail without permission?"

"What state of mind does a person have to be in to open someone's mail box at all, let alone take that mail into their home and hold it until they return. Super weird to me!"

In the comments, someone wrote: "Put a mail hold on next time for leave town. It's easy to do beforehand and you'll get at least two benefits. 1. You won't have to worry about your mail being touched by anyone or potentially stolen and 2. It will accumulate and be delivered or available for pickup at your convenience."

Another defended the neighbours, suggesting they likely had good intentions, writing: "I think this is a you'll come to appreciate it situation, and they'll get used to you being a bit more private too once they get to know you better."

A Redditor also chimed in: "You're an unreasonable person. This is called being neighbourly in most places."