The MPs signed a Commons motion calling for statutory protection for those who lives are blighted by their neighbours overgrown hedges and trees.

The root of the problem is the leylandii tree. A fast-growing Cypress which can reach up to 100ft high and is widely blamed for sucking the goodness from soil, killing nearby grass and flowerbeds as well as damaging houses and causing "winter gloom" by blocking out sunlight.

Anti-hedge protesters lobbying Parliament earlier this year

The government has already set up a working party to draw up a voluntary code of conduct for gardeners in a bid to tackle the problem.

But the MPs suggest health officers should be given the powers to judge whether or not an excessively high hedge constitutes a nuisance.

They say this would offer the necessary flexibility and discretion to deal with such a tricky issue.

MPs also want the government to beef up the remit of the working party so it can investigate whether new laws are needed.

Calls by MPs have been welcomed by Hedgeline, a pressure group which represents over 2000 victims of monster hedges.

Michael Jones, overwhelmed by MPs support

Hedgeline founder member Michael Jones told BBC News Online, "I am pleasantly surprised, even overwhelmed by the considerable support MPs have shown."

Mr Jones said he hopped the government would back the message and so make clear that they are "online opposing this grave nuisance and anti-social behaviour".

He said he favoured tight legislation to ensure "people would be in no way be able to wriggle out of their responsibilities to a neighbour".

Mr Jones said action was urgently needed to rein-in giant hedges as the problem has recently taken a more sinister turn.

He said cases existed where neighbours were using monster hedges to depreciate the value of the neighbour's houses in a blackmail bid.

He sighted one case in particular where one Hedgeline caller rang for advice after a neighbour bought a strip of land facing the callers house and planted it out with leylandii trees cutting out all his light.

The anti-social neighbour, who had bought the land for a few hundred pounds, then demanded £60,000 to remove the trees.

Mr Jones said: "Blackmailing the neighbour to buy a piece of land, which is only of value because it contains an appalling nuisance that they have created, must be the most trenchant piece of blackmail that there ever could be."