PhilBoy wrote:

The fence at the top of my back garden, owned by my neighbour, is
broken and falling down, basically it's a wreck. Cats get through and
attack the birds in my garden. It is also in my opinion a security
risk from burglars. My neighbour wont fix it

I would like to plant an extremely nasty, anti cat, and anti burglar,
hedge. I would like something that grows relatively quickly and that I
would be able to prune with powerful electric hedge trimmers. 5 ft.
tall would be my target height. I plan long-term to remove my
leylandii when the hedge is formed.

Any ideas? Pyracanthea, Rosa rugosa, or berberis. A bonus would be to
have butterflies and birds attracted to my hedge.
Phil of Whittlesey Peterborough England

Rambling Rector - there's a flush of white flowers in late spring which
are quite attractive. More importantly, it grows enthusiastically - in 3
years, two have covered 60 feet of our garden fence. And the thorns are
viciously curved - any attempt at pruning results in lots of blood.

A cat did try scrambling up it when I was close behind - lots of
screaming, from the cat!

It can look a bit tatty and seems susceptible to mildew but the thorns
are impressive. We planted it to deter anybody trying to get into the
garden over some flat garage roofs at the end - which it has done.
--
Larry Stoter