My neighbour sabotaged my newly built garden fence after an epic boundary battle
A WOMAN has claimed her neighbour sabotaged a newly built garden fence after an epic boundary battle.
Carole Buckley, from Bollington, Macclesfield, said it was attacked with a chisel, hammer and a drill after Kevin Lawrence, 84, accused her of encroaching on his land.
Lawrence, 84, who lived in the cottage next door to Carole for 14 years, would creep out of the back door in his pyjamas to destruct parts of her property, a court heard.
His campaign of vandalism saw £1,200 worth of damages done as he drilled into the brickwork of her back wall and stuck glue-covered lollipop sticks in the holes.
After installing a RingDoorbell cam, Carole caught Lawrence at 1.45am checking out his work and carrying out more “intimidating” acts.
Retired builder Lawrence started “bullying” the woman when her partner moved out in 2021.
Carole said she’s been feeling like a “prisoner in my own home” ever since.
However, Lawrence argued he doesn’t “have anything to do with her”.
Carole told Crewe Magistrates’ Court: “I try not to interact with Kevin Lawrence because I have found his behaviour towards me since my partner left to be intimidating and of a bullying nature.
“He had never bothered me at all until I was living alone and having building work done.
“I had fencing around my property which had concrete posts which were not straight so I needed to replace the concrete posts.
“Considering that the original fence was falling on to his property I thought I was doing the right thing.
“I thought the best way to stop it was to get evidence first on camera and seek help from the local police.
”But the moment the camera went up, my phone was going off every day.”
Carole claims one incident involved Lawrence putting a knife on top of the pillar connected to the fence.
She added: “Another [time was] when he climbed up with a hammer and chisel and appeared to be hacking at the render.
“My phone was going off constantly. I ended up having five weeks off work with stress.
“At one stage I flew off to Egypt and the phone was going off all the time when I was there.
“He was climbing over the wall, damaging the render. The builder said if water got behind it, it would cause damp.”
The woman, in her 50s, said she felt the need to put a padlock on the back gate in case Lawrence entered her garden.
Telling the magistrate how “he would stare at me from his garden” when she was eating dinner, Carole was forced to have the blind down on her patio doors constantly.
She added: “I have felt like a prisoner in my own home. I am still not using the back entrance in case I come across Mr Lawrence.
“My mental health has definitely suffered.”
I have felt like a prisoner in my own home
Carole Buckley
The court was shown documents from the land registry proving Carole’s fence was not on any part of Lawrence’s land.
In an interview with cops, Lawrence admitted drilling into the brick pillar before claiming the lollipop sticks were for “strengthening” purposes.
He told the court: “I am not guilty of damaging the white coat on her wall.
“I used PVA glue to stop the lid from being lifted and slid over to an unfavourable position to do with my property and the party wall.
“I drilled into the side of the composition between the top stone and the pillar and inserted pegs dipped in the PVA to hold the top down on the main pillar.
“That was my purpose to hold things exactly as they were.
“I do not have anything to do with her, it’s just one of those things.
“She has a daughter, a solicitor, and she had a go at me because she thought I was harassing her mother.
”As for her cousin, she had a go at me as well when I suggested that it may be because of the boundary situation.
“I do not want anything to do with her whatsoever.
“I had no idea she had something connected to her phone that would wake her up.”
Lawrence was convicted of criminal damage but cleared of harassment.
JP Fraser Geekie said his testimony was “inconsistent and largely unbelievable”.
He said: “We accept Carole Buckley’s evidence but do not accept your testimony which we found inconsistent and largely unbelievable.
“Criminal damage may be a minor offence, but we do recognise how much grief this has caused to Carole Buckley.”
He was ordered to pay £900 in compensation and was fined £100.