Kathleen Neal (pictured) was handed an injunction banning her from harassing Sue, 66, and Keith Brookes, 69,
A snobby 77-year-old woman who made her neighbours’ lives a misery because they lived in a council house has been fined £3,500.
Kathleen Neal avoided jail but she was handed an injunction banning her from harassing Sue, 66, and Keith Brookes, 69, last year, but broke it on 14 occasions.
Her campaign of hate started back in 2002 when she lit four bonfires a day and wafted the smoke over their fence.
The stuck-up pensioner then started clambering through wires and over a 5ft-high fence to get into the Brookes’ back garden, where she pushed over their wheelie bins.
On one occasion she even told them to ‘get back to your council house.’
She also covered the couple’s plants and lawn with weed killer by spraying the garden through gaps in the fence separating the two properties in Park Lane, Castle Donington, Leicester.
Neal, who lives in a three-bedroom detached house, also started making anonymous phone calls to their landline using a pay-as-you-go phone.
The pensioner was handed a five-year injunction at Derby County Court on July 13 last year, banning her from harassing her neighbours.
However, she was back in front of the same court on Wednesday for breaking the order – on 14 separate occasions.
Neal was handed a £250 fine for each breach of the injunction, making a total of £3,500.
Neal’s campaign of hate started back in 2002 when she lit four bonfires a day and wafted the smoke over their fence. Pictured: Kathleen Neal’s home in Castle Donington
Neal (left) climbed over a 5ft-high fence to get into the Brookes’ (Sue Brooke, right) back garden, where she pushed over their wheelie bins
District Judge Desmond Douce told the court: ‘If Mrs Neal finds herself before me again, public interest would demand a term of imprisonment.
‘Age is not a bar – she should consider herself lucky today.’
Grandmother-of-five Sue, who used to run her own care company, said yesterday (Sat): ‘This has ruined our retirement.
‘Her actions have made it very hard for Keith and I to lead a ‘normal’ life. We were hoping that the injunction last year would be the end of it, but sadly it hasn’t been.
‘I’m baffled as to what she has against us. Part of it must be jealousy, because perhaps we have a nicer house than she does.
‘I grew up on a council estate just round the corner from where she lives, and she knew of my parents.
‘So she’s aware that I used to be living on a council estate. It has caused us a lot of misery. It’s put a lot of pressure on us to move out, but we’re standing firm.
‘At the end of the day, we’ve invested an awful lot of money into this property, and we’ve planned to spend the rest of our lives here. This isn’t going to put a stop to that.’
Neal was handed a £250 fine for each breach of the injunction, making a total of £3,500. Pictured: Sue and Keith Brookes’ home
Sue and retired engineer Keith, who have two children, moved into their detached five-bedroom home, which was built in 1938, next door to Neal in 2002.
Councillor Trevor Pendleton, chairman of the Safer North West Leicestershire Partnership, said: ‘We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour in the district and while court is a last resort, we will bring proceedings where necessary against offenders, regardless of their age.
‘We were pleased when the court imposed the five-year injunction and we are also satisfied with the significant fine handed out after the breaches of this order.
‘We hope Mrs Neal finally gets the message that her behaviour is completely unacceptable.
‘We will continue to support the victims of this case by monitoring the situation.’