The message
from Sacha contains these words:

that involve both safety and stubborness,on the grounds that if it
mattters to
him, it matters to me. Finally, just what can and will the electric
company do
if I tell them?

My guess - and it's only a guess - is that they will say they're unsafe and
make him move them, trunk them, bury them etc. Clearly, anyone with a sharp
spade, axe, trowel or hoe could electrocute themselves in your garden. It
seems pretty clear he wanted them your garden because he knew that old lady
wasn't going to do any heavy, sharp tooled gardening work. In other words,
his family was safe while she wasn't.

Which is why you should mention it to your insurance company. I think
they will make more than a bit of fuss.

I think you need to make that clear to your neighbour and tell him that on
those grounds alone, you need him to take the cables onto his land and make
them HIS risk, not yours. If he's a difficult person, I don't know how any
of this can be done nicely but I think you also have to make it very clear
to him that if he does not do this you will a) sue him if anything happens
to you, your family or your property and b) failing suitable and immediate
action on his part, will contact the Electricity Board who will not only
disconnect that supply on the grounds of safety but will insist on more
expensive cabling which they will, undoubtedly, inspect rigorously.

I don't know if it will bother the electricity company unduly, though it
would have done before the industry was privatised. Wasn't the cable
mentioned in your survey? It should have been spotted.

--
Rusty Hinge http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm

Dark thoughts about the Wumpus concerto played with piano,
iron bar and two sledge hammers. (Wumpus, 15/11/03)