Sir Frederick Pollock defined it as ‘a wrong done to man by unlawfully disturbing him in the enjoyment of his property or, in some cases, the exercise of a common right’. There are two kinds of nuisance. A public nuisance is a crime, e.g. causing a road obstruction, and is actionable only by individuals suffering special damage (something more than other affected parties, e.g injured by the obstruction not just inconvenienced). A private nuisance, a tort, is an unlawful interference affecting the occupier’s use or enjoyment of his property. Private nuisances are invasions by noise, smell, water or smoke to the point where it is unreasonable. Public liability insurance covers accidental obstructions and other forms of nuisance.
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Nuisance means acts or omission which unlawfully interfere with another person’s use of enjoyment of land or of some right in connection with it.