A Perth vegan has taken her beef with meat odours to new extremes – taking legal action against her neighbours over the smells from their backyard barbecue.
Massage therapist Cilla Carden has gone to the extraordinary length of taking the Vu family next door to court, complaining not only of meat smells from their cooking, but also the sound of kids playing games and stray cigarette smoke wafting into her beloved garden.
WATCH: Cilla explains to Nine News Perth why she feels aggrieved
She claims the experience has been so traumatic it has prevented her from enjoying her back garden, with the smell of cooking meat ruining the experience for her.
With her claims recently rejected by a tribunal, she applied to the Supreme Court of Western Australia for the chance to appeal – a move that has also been rejected.
Not dissuaded in her crusade against food smells and other neighbourly irritants, the woman insisted to Nine News Perth that the family were ‘absolutely deliberate’ in what she claims is a campaign to upset her with fleshy smells. The family denies this and say they just want to be left alone.
‘It’s been devastating, it’s been turmoil, it’s been unrest, I haven’t been able to sleep,’ Cilla says of the apparent trauma.
Neighbour Mr Vu says he has removed the barbecue and stopped his kids from playing with a basketball in the yard, saying he wants to keep the peace.
But Cilla has also complained about the neighbour living on the other side of the Vus, and she is vowing to return to court. Upset over floodlights extending on to her property, that complaint was also thrown out.
The story has created a storm on social media, with many commenters agreeing that smells and noises are just a fact of city living.
