A MAN drove his van directly at a pensioner and then threatened to slit his throat in a campaign of harassment, intimidation and abuse, a court heard.
David Greenwood, 69, and Janice Turner, 65, were left living in fear of violence, a jury was told, after being involved in a lengthy neighbour dispute with Mark Coates, 56.
Coates had repeatedly sworn at the couple when they were in the garden, had thrown stones at their bedroom window and at their car and had left them feeling intimidated in a three-month campaign.
The court heard on once occasion he went Mr Greenwood’s place of work and drove his VW van directly at the pensioner who had to get out of the way “briskly” to avoid being hit.
Later when the pensioner was in his garden, Coates allegedly said: “Slit me throat” before making a cutting motion across his throat.
The alleged campaign ended when police were called after Coates climbed onto the roof of their semi-detached home and began removing and throwing roof tiles down at them.
Lewes Crown Court heard both sets of neighbours had been involved in a seven-year neighbour dispute.
The ongoing row was sparked when a fence panel fell down at their adjoining semi-detached homes,
As part of the dispute, Coates had incurred a legal bill and Miss Turner and Mr Greenwood had been given a possession order by the court over their neighbour’s three-bedroom home.
But just days after the possession order was granted Coates embarked on a campaign of abuse, harassment and intimidation again them.
Coates allegedly swore at them, threw stones at their bedroom window and their car and drove at Mr Greenwood.
The court heard Coates drove his VW van to the garage wear Mr Greenwood worked as a mechanic.
As he was carrying out diagnostics on a car outside the garage, Coates drove straight at him.
The jury was told that just days later Mr Greenwood was in his garden, which adjoined his neighbours, when he heard Coates say: “Yellow” and swear at him.
Then as he looked towards him Coates allegedly said: “Slit me throat” before making a cutting motion across his throat.
On a second occasion Mr Greenwood was walking down towards his greenhouse when Coates again swore at him and said: “You’re taking the f***ing p*ss.”
The court heard the dispute culminated on June 10 this year when Coates clambered onto the roof of the two houses and began removing all the roof tiles.
He then began throwing them down towards his neighbours who immediately called the police.
Miss Turner told a court she was left terrified when Coates began hurling tiles from the roof of the adjoining semi-detached homes.
She said: “There were a variety of loud noises coming from inside his house, banging and clattering.
“I went up the garden and Mr Coates was inside and he was smashing a hole from the inside of his attic space and he was cutting the batons and knocking the tiles off the roof.
“He was picking some of them up and throwing them into the garden and towards me. I was standing by my greenhouse I felt debris from the roof go past my face.”
She said when the hole was big enough to climb through Coates clambered out onto the roof.
Miss Turner said: “He continued to remove everything from that roof and then breached the party wall area and completely removed the best part of the roof at the rear of my property.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was extremely distressed and I was very scared and I was crying. I felt very, very frightened.”
Prosecutor Rio Pahlavanpour said Coates was arrested by police and taken into custody and questioned by officers.
“During the interview he was asked questions about the throat slitting comment, making his neighbours feel as if they were being harassed and throwing tiles from the roof and he answered: ‘No comment.’”
The court heard the only comment he made about the series of incident was to accuse his neighbours of being “compulsive liars” and claiming and he had been “victimised by Sussex Police”.
Coates was eventually charged with two counts of harassment and two counts of criminal damage. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges,
The trial continues.
