As a youngster I remember my mum and dad complaining about a chap who built a shanty town for his chickens out of old doors and bits of corrugated iron in the field next to our house.

The scene prompted comments from everyone who visited us and the local council agreed the scene was a blot on the landscape.

It's not unusual, I suppose, for folks to be outraged by their neighbours' inconsideration or lack of respect for the environment but surely there are degrees of outrage.

And so you have to ask the question – in all honesty would a couple of tents in next door's garden have you complaining to the authorities and damning them an eyesore?

In her time supermodel Kate Moss has made one or two headlines for her less-than-commendable behaviour but somehow it seems this time she has really caused a furore.

The reason? The model has placed two Native American-style teepees – or wigwams – in the back garden of her 17th-century Oxfordshire home.

And the 15ft-high conical structures are threatening to ignite a battle on the scale of Little Bighorn.

Local residents living close to Ms Moss claim the teepees not only block their view but are spoiling the view to boot.

They are now demanding to know whether or not the supermodel requires planning permission and if not, that the designer tents should be taken down.

Surely tents and back gardens were made for one another? You only have to think back to those glorious, long summer days of camping out Enid Blyton-style with just a candlewick bedspread draped over a clothes line (and held taut at the corners with a pile of stones) between you and the stars.

Granted, our homemade structures – some cleverly and painstakingly crafted from a clothes horse, several blankets and infinite patience – did not protrude above the neighbours' privet hedges, obscuring their views of the setting sun and the hills beyond.

But even so, surely there are worse things to see on the horizon than the pointy tops of a couple of wigwams?

If Ms Moss was holding wild parties till all hours with shrieking guests and blaring music, then fair enough, complain.

If she had a back garden full of old mattresses, rusting cars and more tyres than Kwik-Fit or if she had started up her own glue factory, then yes, there would be grounds for a swift visit from the environmental health department.

But on what grounds can these residents kick up a fuss? Can they really believe a pair of teepees are spoiling their outlook?

Perhaps the answer is for Ms Moss to invite the neighbours round? Maybe she could organise a bit of a pow wow and they could smoke the pipe of peace?

On second thoughts, that kind of behaviour has got her into trouble before...

virginia.mason@halifaxcourier.co.uk