Couple Put Clowns, Dolls, Barbed Wire On Fence In Long-Running Dispute With Neighbor, Court Hears

In a long-running dispute with a neighbor, a couple in the UK put dolls, clowns and barbed wire on their fence, a court recently heard.

Sandra Durdin, 58, and now ex-partner Trevor Dempsey, 63, also allegedly parked vehicles on the complainant's drive in Chingford, east London. The two have also been accused of flooding neighbor Joanne Shreeves' alleyway, reported Mirror. The two allegedly stood at the bottom of the drive and called Shreeves “an ugly wh***."

Durdin and Dempsey have denied a charge of harassment related to the period between June 2020 and last August, reported BBC. A charge of criminal damage was also denied by Durdin.

There had been a feud with Shreeves, who was their neighbor of nearly 40 years, Stratford Magistrates' Court heard. Durdin and Dempsey sprayed hose water on to their neighbor's house, said prosecutor Lucy McGarr. There is also an allegation that Durdin destroyed a CCTV camera worth 1,350 pounds ($1,754.86).

Durdin had contracted Covid-19 and was unable to stand trial on Monday, said Phil Emery, who is defending Dempsey. He spoke to confirm his details and tell the court that he had separated from Durdin. A further hearing will be held on May 3 at Thames Magistrates' Court. The defendants will not be required to attend in May.

The Crown Prosecution Service was directed by District Judge Jane McIvor to decide "whether it is in the public interest to continue" with proceedings ahead of that date.

A previous hearing was told that the defendants, who are on bail, have moved to Ramsgate in Kent, which is more than 100 miles away from their former home, according to My London.

In February, Mirror reported that Shreeves was accused of harassing and threatening Dempsey and Durdin in June last year. She allegedly damaged Dempsey's garden property in October 2020 as well, but she denied all charges made against her.

Cameras belonging to the couple captured Shreeves spitting at her neighbors and laughing. In a video, she also appeared to shake the fence between the properties saying, "You're a dirty c***."

Representing Shreeves, Charlie Charles said, "She says those words were added in afterwards. That was something she said in her bedroom." Charles also said that his client pointed out that "footage taken from her own cameras during the alleged spitting doesn't include her neighbors and that they edited themselves in."