A man has been ordered to pay compensation after he poured vegetable oil over his neighbour's car during a long-running dispute.
Tony Glaister and the victim had been involved in a feud for months but matters came to a head on day in November last year when he decided to vandalise his vehicle. A court heard that the 51-year-old was seen to throw the contents of a bottle of water containing vegetable oil over the man's car, which cost £210 to professionally clean.
Glaister, who hasn't been in trouble since 2008, found himself in the dock at Newcastle Magistrates' Court this week to face an allegation of criminal damage, which he pleaded guilty to. Prosecutor, Rob Lawson, said the offence happened on November 25 last year on School Row, in Prudhoe.
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Mr Lawson continued: "Some sort of oil substance was splashed over the complainant's vehicle. A statement from the complainant says "I took the vehicle to a repair shop and it was machine polished to remove the substance, which cost £210."
Adrian Ions, defending, said Glaister had been at his "wits' end" following a long-running feud with the victim and offered his apologies to him and the court. Mr Ions added: "He thought it would cause a mild inconvenience to the witness and he would just have to get a rag and wipe it off."
Ordering Glaister to pay £100 compensation to the victim, District Judge Paul Currer said: "In my experience, disputes between neighbours can be troubling and cause no amount of upset between parties and it tends to take over lives and becomes an obsession.
"I'm sure that's what led to you to behave in the way you did. It was out-of-character. It was an exceptionally silly thing to do."
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