Stephen Gee, 63, arrives at Poole Magistrates Court in Dorset
An army officer used CCTV to catch his neighbour slashing a hole in his swimming pool in a covert-style attack, a court heard.
Stephen Gee, 63, had become so fed up with noise made by Jason Little’s children when playing in the outdoor pool he took it upon himself to sabotage the structure during a night-time raid.
Gee crept into his neighbour’s garden in Puxey, Dorset, armed with a bladed weapon and cut a hole in the metal wall of the pool, causing 4,000 litres of water to gush out.
When decorated army major Mr Little, 46, and his wife Avril returned to their £600,000 home, they found their pool was empty and their garden had been flooded.
The incident was caught on Mr Little’s hidden CCTV camera, where he saw Gee mysterious disappear behind the pool before sneaking off back into his own home.
Gee, who worked in the aviation industry for 25 years, denied the charges of criminal damage but was found guilty at Poole Magistrates’ Court.
After the ruling, Mr Little spoke of his delight that a restraining order had been imposed against Gee.
He said: ‘He threatened my children and tried to tell them they were not allowed to use their own garden and said many times they were going to force us to leave.
‘We made complaints but the problem with disputes is it’s often one word against the other so it’s very hard to prove.
‘This has always been an issue since we moved in but now we had some evidence that could be used.
‘I’m just relieved the judge gave him a restraining order and he won’t be able to make nasty comments to my family anymore.’
Gee claimed had gone out into the garden after being woken in the middle of the night on June 19, 2016, to investigate. He added that the pool was not well maintained and the leak was caused by an old mark which had finally busted open.
However upon reviewing the clip, which shows Gee disappear behind the structure for 16 seconds before re-emerging and sneaking back into his house, Judge Nicholls found him guilty, saying his evidence lacked consistency and logic.
He said: ‘His account is not credible or believable and I am satisfied he entered the land and caused damage to the pool, causing water to escape.’
The judge also issued a restraining order banning Gee from contacting the Littles for five years and from going onto the curtilage of their property.
Former Army major Jason Little at Poole’s Magistrates Court
An aerial view of Jason Little’s home, his swimming pool and Stephen Gee’s home
Gee had left a note on the Little’s porch explaining how he had woken in the middle of the night to the sound of water flowing and called the police.
The slashing of the pool was the climax to a four-year dispute between the two warring families.
The hold where 4,000 litres of water gushed out of Mr Little’s 10 metre by 4 metre swimming pool
Mr Little, who won the Military Cross for displaying inspirational leadership in battle in Afghanistan in 2008, had moved into a large detached house in 2012 with his family.
Although the oval swimming pool, which measured 10m by 4m, was already installed, his new neighbour soon took offence to his children using it.
Mr Little, 46, told the court: ‘The pool was already there when we moved in and we started using it. Almost immediately they seemed to take offence to the fact we have children and the children make noise.
Stephen Gee is seen sneaking behind the pool on the weekend of June 19, 2016
Gee (pictured to the left hand side) was seen sneaking down the garden path at around 4.30am
‘Whenever they used the swimming pool, they shouted over the fence at them and would play loud music and stare at them.
‘Before we had CCTV things happened to the swimming pool that I couldn’t explain, so we had cameras installed to the rear of the property.’
Mr Little’s children had not used the pool in the summer of 2016 but maintenance checks had been carried out so they could start using it again.
Before they left to go away on the weekend of June 19, the water level was full and there was no leak.
PC Charlotte Goddard told Poole Magistrates’ Court it looked as if the wall of the pool had been hit with a weapon resembling an axe.
In the CCTV footage, it appears that Gee was carrying something in his right hand although it is not clear what.
The cost of the damage ran to £1,500, although Mr Little said he claimed it through his house insurance and only had to pay the £250 excess.
Gee, who has no previous convictions, was fined £500 and ordered to pay £650 prosecution costs and £250 compensation to Mr Little.