Man ‘climbed on roof and threw tiles at neighbour throughout bitter seven-year row over a fence’, courtroom hears

A man climbed on his roof, tore the roof tiles from his home and threw them at his neighbour as she stood crying with terror in her garden, a court heard.

Mark Coates, 57, climbed onto the roof of his semi-detached home and removed tiles from his roof before clambering over to his neighbour’s home and throwing tiles at her.

Janice Turner, 66, felt a tile fly past her face and hit a flower planter near her greenhouse.

The incident on June 10 this year came at the end of a bitter seven-year neighbour dispute which began when a fence panel fell down.

Yesterday Ms 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.’

Ms Turner and her partner, David Greenwood, 70, claim they were left living in fear of violence after the dispute with Coates.

Lewes Crown Court heard both sets of neighbours, who lived in adjoining semi-detached homes, had been involved in a long-running dispute.

As part of that dispute the case had gone to the High Court where a judge had ruled against Coates.

The court heard that as a result Coates had incurred a large legal bill and Miss Turner and Mr Greenwood had been given a possession order over their neighbour’s three-bedroom home.

The property was due to be sold to reimburse Miss Turner and Mr Greenwood for the damage to their property and the harassment they had suffered as well as their legal fees.

But after the possession order was granted Coates embarked on a campaign of abuse, harassment and intimidation against them.

The court heard it culminated in Coates ‘systematically destroying’ his property to reduce its value.

Miss Turner said: ‘He was systematically and vindictively destroying the property. He cut a hole through the joists. He took the staircase out of his house. His aim was to destroy and diminish its value. It was calculating and spiteful.’

The jury was shown video footage taken by a drone of the damage caused to both homes.

Earlier Coates was accused of repeatedly swearing at the couple when they were in the garden, threw stones at their bedroom window and at their car and had left them feeling intimidated.

The court heard Coates drove his VW van to the garage where Mr Greenwood worked as a mechanic.

As he was carrying out diagnostics on a car outside the garage, Coates drove straight at him.

Rio Pahlavanpour, prosecuting said Mr Greenwood had to move ‘briskly’ to avoid being hit by the accelerating van.

Later the couple were walking to their car when Coates came out into his garden and threatened to cut their throats, the jury heard.

Miss Turner told the jury: ‘David went through the gate and he came back and he said: “He’s just threatened to slit my throat” and I said: “I know I heard him.”

‘I heard him say: “I’ll slit your throat”. It was directed at both of us. I was worried because I believed that at the time he was bail for something and wasn’t supposed to contact to us.’

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**s.’

Lewes Crown Court heard Coates was arrested by police after the alleged tile-throwing incident and questioned by officers.

Mr Pahlavanpour said: ‘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 incidents was to accuse his neighbours of being ‘compulsive liars’ and claiming that he had been ‘victimised by Sussex Police’.

Coates was eventually charged with two counts of harassment and two counts of criminal damage. He denies all charges.

The case continues.