Turf wars: Elderly man attacked with lawnmower in Australian dispute over lawn

A tiny patch of lawn is believed to have sparked the argument between elderly neighbours.

An argument between elderly neighbours over a tiny patch of lawn appears to have been the catalyst that led to an 81-year-old being allegedly attacked with a lawnmower.

The octogenarian suffered severe hand, torso and leg injuries after a fight broke out with another man in Port Macquarie, on the NSW mid north coast, police have said.

Emergency services were called to Crestwood Drive on Saturday morning and paramedics treated the elderly man before he was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital.

Blood stains flecked the driveway while a lawnmower, its clippings disgorged, lay nearby.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that the dispute between the two men has been going on for some time and centres on who actually owns the piece of grass.

"It's only a small strip of grass — about half a metre by a metre — and the younger man wants it mowed and for some reason the older man does not," said one neighbour, who asked not to be named.

"It seems like the issue came to a head when the younger man was going to mow the strip."

Police say a lawn mower and large knife were used during a neighbour dispute between a 72 and 81 year old man on Crestwood Drive Port Macquarie @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/xUOdqE0m3E

— Jessica Nagel (@Jess_Nagel) February 24, 2018

Inspector Stuart Campbell from Port Macquarie Police Station said officers were collecting video footage of the incident and speaking with other neighbours.

"There are a few different versions of what's occurred, so we're trying to decipher the most correct one at the moment," he told AAP.

"It's a dispute over a piece of lawn." A large knife and a lawnmower were allegedly used during the brawl and a 72-year-old man is speaking with police.

He was yet to be charged.