Leniency shown to neighbour at end of his tether

Michael Marshall had repeatedly complained about the condition of Dennis Hart's terraced property next door in Batley.

That included the smell from toilet effluent leaking from a disconnected pipe and rubbish dumped in the house, as well as damp seeping through because roof repairs had not been done.

Freddy Apfel told Leeds Crown Court for Marshall yesterday that over the past two years he had involved his local council who had served notice on Mr Hart, while the RSPCA had attended and removed five cats from the house. But the problems continued.

"It is no exaggeration to say the property was in a state of squalor," he said.

After trying to sell his house in Wensleydale Parade, Batley, without success because of the situation next door, Marshall "was at the end of his tether" when he went round to his neighbour's home about midnight on June 27 last year.

"He had had a drink, it was hot and the smell from the house was particularly noticeable."

Tony Kelbrick, prosecuting, said Marshall's knock on the door was not answered by Mr Hart, who was watching television, but he walked in uninvited when he found the door unlocked.

He told his neighbour: "I want to talk to you about you sorting yourself out" and when he was told to get out appeared to get angry.

"He grabbed an empty wine bottle from the worktop and struck Mr Hart to the right side of the top of his head."

Mr Kelbrick said Marshall later accepted he hit the other man three times.

When he fell to the floor, Mr Hart said he was pulled about, punched with a clenched fist to his face, blacking both eyes, leaving him dizzy and in pain.

He also maintained Marshall briefly tried to strangle him before pulling a vegetable knife from his pocket and telling him: "I don't care if you do tell the police, I don't care about anything. I'm going to come back later and slit your throat."

Marshall later denied making any such threat or trying to strangle the other man, saying he was not minded to touch him, but he accepted he had kicked him.

A bruised Mr Hart reported the matter the next day when he was treated at Dewsbury Hospital, receiving three stitches to a cut on his forehead and Steri-strips applied to another.

Marshall, 56, who admitted unlawful wounding and having a bladed article in a public place, was given a community order with supervision and 100 hours unpaid work.

Judge Sally Cahill QC said she had considered carefully what made a man of his age of previous impeccable character commit such serious offences.

She had heard of the problems over the past two years as a result "of your neighbour's method of keeping his home" including the RSPCA taking cats away, the involvement of Housing Services because of his failure to keep the premises in proper order and had seen photographs showing the poor repair and "appalling amount of rubbish that was kept there".

"From that evidence I am therefore able to accept what is put before me, that is you were finding it very difficult to live in these circumstances while your neighbour so clearly had complete disregard for the comfort of you and others in the street.

"That does not excuse you going round and behaving as you did."

The judge said she also accepted he had tried to sell his house and would suffer enormous financial loss at having to lower the price if his neighbour continued to keep his home in the manner he had been doing.

"It is of course his right but I can understand your frustration."

In the circumstances and because of his previous good character, while his behaviour was not excused by the provocation he had received, it was possible to step back from a custodial sentence, she told him.

Mr Apfel told the court Marshall accepted he had done wrong but had reached the end of his tether.

Marshall had also paid 200 for roof repairs to be done at his own expense because of the damp problem to his home caused by the poor state next door. He had also had to spent 600 repairing his ceiling.