Bitter neighbour dispute ends with thug smashing giant hole in roof to destroy entire house

Lewes Crown Court heard however a quality betwixt Janice Turner and her spouse and their neighbour Mark Coates came to a caput successful June erstwhile helium tried to "destroy" their homes successful Robertsbridge, East Sussex

A quality betwixt 2 neighbours implicit a shared bound which began erstwhile a obstruction sheet fell down ended with 1 of them attempting to “systematically destroy” some houses.

Janice Turner, 66, and her partner, David Greenwood, 70, assertion they were near surviving successful fearfulness of unit aft the long-running quality with Mark Coates. In June this year, Coates smashed a spread done the extortion of the semi-detached homes earlier climbing retired and ripping disconnected the tiles which helium past hurled to the ground.

His terrified neighbour called the constabulary erstwhile a tile flew past her look and, aft a stand-off lasting much than 2 hours, Coates was yet arrested, Lewes Crown Court was told. The alleged incidental connected June 10 successful Robertsbridge, adjacent Hastings successful East Sussex, this twelvemonth brought to an extremity the seven-year dispute. The tribunal heard Coates, 57, barricaded himself into his location and began “systematically destroying” the location to trim its value.

After years of litigation, the lawsuit had yet gone to the High Court wherever a justice had ruled against Coates. As a effect spot was owed to beryllium sold to reimburse Miss Turner and Mr Greenwood’s ineligible fees arsenic good arsenic for the harm caused to their spot and for compensation for harassment they had suffered.

Three days earlier helium was owed to manus implicit the location keys Coates decided to origin monolithic harm to the three-bedroom property, the assemblage heard. The video, captured from a constabulary body-worn camera, shows constabulary officers trying to crushed with Coates and coax him down from the roof.

The tribunal heard Coates told officers: “I’ve had this location stolen disconnected maine by a justice and corrupt police. I’ll origin arsenic overmuch harm arsenic I tin to devalue the house.”

Although not captured connected video, Coates past clambered crossed the extortion and began smashing tiles from neighbours’ adjoining home, throwing them down into their garden. Miss Turner said: “There were a assortment of large noises coming from wrong his house, banging and clattering.

“I went up the plot and Mr Coates was wrong and helium was smashing a spread from the wrong of his attic abstraction and helium was cutting the batons and knocking the tiles disconnected the roof. He was picking immoderate of them up and throwing them into the plot and towards me.

“I was lasting by my greenhouse I felt debris from the extortion spell past my face. He continued to region everything from that extortion and past breached the enactment partition country and wholly removed the champion portion of the extortion astatine the rear of my property.

“I couldn’t judge what I was seeing. I was highly distressed and I was precise frightened and I was crying. I felt very, precise frightened. He was systematically and vindictively destroying the property. He chopped a spread done the joists.

“He took the staircase retired of his house. His purpose was to destruct and diminish its value. It was calculating and spiteful.”

Mr Greenwood told the jury: “Tiles were being thrown everywhere, chimney pots were being smashed off. I was rather shocked. I’ve ne'er seen idiosyncratic destroying a location that mode before.

“The full concern was wholly retired of hand. It was conscionable total, full destruction.”

In the video, shown to the tribunal , Coates told officers his purpose was to origin arsenic overmuch harm arsenic possible. He said helium wanted charges to beryllium truthful superior helium would get a proceedings by assemblage wherever helium would beryllium capable to exposure officials who had utilized “corruption and bias” to portion him of his home.

Coates was yet arrested and charged with 2 counts of harassment and 2 counts of transgression damage. He denies each charges.

Earlier Coates was accused of repeatedly swearing astatine the mates erstwhile they were successful the garden, threw stones astatine their chamber model and astatine their car and had near them feeling intimidated. The tribunal heard Coates drove his VW van to the store wherever Mr Greenwood worked arsenic a mechanic.

As helium was carrying retired diagnostics connected a car extracurricular the garage, Coates drove consecutive astatine him. Rio Pahlavanpour, prosecuting, said Mr Greenwood had to determination “briskly” to debar being deed by the accelerating van.

Later the mates were walking to their car erstwhile Coates came retired into his plot and threatened to chopped their throats, the assemblage heard. Miss Turner told the jury: “David went done the gross and helium came backmost and helium said: ‘He’s conscionable threatened to slit my throat’ and I said: ‘I cognize I heard him.’

“I heard him say: ‘I’ll slit your throat’. It was directed astatine some of us. I was disquieted due to the fact that I believed that astatine the clip helium was bail for thing and wasn’t expected to interaction to us.”

On a 2nd juncture Mr Greenwood was walking down towards his greenhouse erstwhile Coates again swore astatine him and said: “You’re taking the f***ing p*ss.”

The lawsuit continues.