Couple handed restraining orders after erecting banners with their neighbours’ faces on them

A couple have been given restraining orders after erecting 10ft banners with their neighbours’ photos on them in a protest against extensions they claimed invaded their privacy.

Courtney Lytton, 66, and his 60-year-old wife Fiona had been charged with harassment without violence between Christmas Day and March at Ludgvan in Cornwall.

They denied the harassment charge but Truro magistrates placed restraining orders on the couple to prevent them putting up any banners or temporary structures ‘designed or intended to harass’ their neighbours.

In January the Lyttons told how they created the banners after what they claimed as a ‘nightmare’ battle with their neighbours and Cornwall Council.

They alleged the council had not followed proper procedures in granting planning permission for the extensions which overlook their back garden at Tregarthen in Long Rock, west Cornwall.

The couple claimed they had been ‘robbed of their privacy’ and their ‘lives had been ruined’ because residents using the balconies can now see into their garden.

The row began in 2015 when the Lytton’s first objected to plans for an extension that were submitted to Cornwall Council. But permission was granted and new extensions (pictured) have since been built to the houses on either side of the Lytton’s house

The row began in 2015 when the Lytton’s first objected to plans for an extension that were submitted to Cornwall Council.

But permission was granted and new extensions have since been built to the houses on either side of the Lytton’s house.

The couple, who have two children, say they regularly entertain their two grandchildren in the garden but can no longer enjoy the view across St Michael’s Mount.

They denied the harassment charge but Truro magistrates placed restraining orders on the couple to prevent them putting up any banners or temporary structures ‘designed or intended to harass’ their neighbours

Mrs Lytton, a professional gardener trained by the Royal Horticultural Society, claimed their lives have been ‘completely ruined’.

She said in January: ‘It’s now impossible to enjoy the garden because it’s like being in a goldfish bowl.

‘There’s nowhere in our garden to have a cup of coffee without being watched. We created the privacy banners so we would have some part of our garden where we wouldn’t be seen.’ 

 Using photos they had taken of their neighbours using their extensions, they created what they called ‘privacy banners’ which they said would ensure they could enjoy their garden in private

Using photos they had taken of their neighbours using their extensions, they created what they called ‘privacy banners’ which they said would ensure they could enjoy their garden in private.

The magistrates told the couple who are of good character: ‘You have lowered yourself in my view.

‘I have no doubt it was extremely distressing but there are proper ways of dealing with it.’

Mrs Lytton, a professional gardener trained by the Royal Horticultural Society, claimed their lives have been ‘completely ruined’

The JPs said they were a ‘mature’ couple and should not have resorted to creating the banners adding: ‘The most important thing is that you learn to live with your neighbours properly.’

The four-year restraining order bans them from making any banners either temporary or permanent which are intended to harass the neighbours.