A neighbour from hell has been ordered to stop making misery for the occupants of the house next door after a “campaign of harassment” that lasted months and included spraying their car with bleach.
Carey Styles, 42, of Pleasant Street, Widnes, was handed a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting Matthew Kenyon and Gary Park after subjecting them to a variety of behaviour believed to be intended to "intimidate" them between April and November last year.
Styles pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington on June 7 where he was fined £160 and told to pay a £34 surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
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Court papers said no compensation was ordered because of the risk this would “inflame the situation”. A restraining order was imposed banning him from contacting his neighbours directly or indirectly for six months.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said the harassment began after CCTV showed Styles had damaged one of his neighbours’ cars by opening the door of his van.
The vehicles had adjacent parking spaces between the houses with no barrier between the two, and space allocated accordingly. Initially “reasonable discussions” took place over obtaining the repairs and although the car’s owner wanted a mainstream garage to complete the repairs, Styles “wanted to sort the issue himself”.
Styles refused to provide his insurance details and eventually the police became involved and the relevant details were found. This is believed to have been the catalyst for months of harassment.
Activity included wing mirrors being pushed in, verbal abuse captured on CCTV, and “bleach water being jet washed on their vehicle and other actions”.
The CPS spokeswoman said: “Both of the neighbours believe the actions were meant to intimidate them and felt they were being harassed. They felt Mr Styles’ behaviour escalated over the months. They reported the incidents to the police and eventually Mr Styles was arrested and charged with two counts of non-violent harassment.”
Video clips obtained by the ECHO showed incidents such as Styles pausing to stare at the CCTV camera while carrying a bag of KFC fast food, pulling his car in front of his neighbour’s vehicle quickly and reversing towards it as it also backed away, and a variety of antisocial driving.
Following Styles’s sentencing, Senior Crown Prosecutor Karen Renshall of CPS Mersey Cheshire, told the ECHO: “Carey Styles did not use violence to harass his victims but his behaviour caused them psychological distress and they have spoken of how his actions made them feel uncomfortable and anxious in their own home. They have spoken of changing their routines so that they wouldn’t have to encounter him.
“This began with a relatively minor incident that could so easily have been resolved. But instead, Mr Styles embarked on a campaign of harassment that has now left him with a criminal record. The relationship with his next door neighbours is probably damaged beyond repair. The CPS hopes that the relatively speedy conclusion of this case and the restraining order will help them to restore some sense of normality at their home.”
Pleasant Street is part of a Halton Housing mixed tenure newbuild development in southern Widnes.
Anyone experiencing harassment in Halton should call Cheshire Police on 101.
