A grandad who was caught drunkenly loitering outside the home of his new neighbour has been convicted of public order offences.
Retired plumber Dennis Ravenscroft, 73, stopped at the property of council finance officer Victoria Ormrod, 26, as he shambled home at 5am following a night out.
But he was arrested after Miss Ormrod - who had installed a Ring camera on her front door - was woken by an alarm triggered by the security firm's app and checked footage on her phone.
She immediately recognised Ravenscroft as the culprit after realising she had said hello to him when she recently moved into the area.
Ms Ormrod dialled 999 and the old man was subsequently intercepted by police before he made it home in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester.
It emerged Ravenscroft, who would drink up to 14 pints in a night, had tried to open the doors of Miss Ormrod's car and was seen with his hands down his trousers at the time.
At Tameside magistrates court, Ravenscroft admitted using threatening or insulting behaviour and was conditionally discharged for two years.
Prosecutor Mr Graeme Tindall said: "On the 24th April of this year, Miss Ormrod was awoken by a loud notification alert from her Ring doorbell.
"It was 4:53 am on a Sunday morning and Miss Ormrod, who had only recently moved to the area, certainly wasn't expecting any visitors.
"When she looked at the ring footage she saw Ravenscroft standing with one hand down his pants and the other trying her car door to see if it would open.
"She recognised Ravenscroft as her new neighbour and admitted to saying hello to him a couple of times but never really got to know him.
"It was for this reason that she was initially hesitant to get the police involved but eventually called the police due to Ravenscroft's persistence in trying to unlock her car door."
Officers intercepted Ravenscroft on his way home to his address on Booth Street Stalybridge and noted that he had clearly been drinking. He gave no explanation for his conduct.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Tim Hughes said: "This is a very sad matter to be dealing with. My client has no idea why he would go out or be out at that time. He does suffer short term memory loss, quite frankly, he has the memory of a goldfish.
"When interviewing him earlier he even forgot what he had said to the probation officer had said to him an hour earlier. It's for these reasons that he doesn't feel himself capable for his actions.
"There is no doubt that there is something neurologically wrong with him, although he has never been diagnosed. Because of his near total hearing loss, Dennis has found it extremely difficult to get diagnosed, COVID certain hasn't helped either."
Mr Hughes added: "This isn't some kind of weird, wonderful or excessive behaviour. He can't explain what he did that night. He the closest he usually gets to Ms Ormrod's address is when he takes his bins out to the front of his house."
"I come across a lot of people in this job and when they say they can't remember what they did it is usually them trying to play the system or fly a kite. This is not the case for Mr Ravenscroft, in my opinion, there is something neurologically amiss.
"I think Mr Ravenscroft has some form of undiagnosed dementia, my two parents had it and I know the signs. He is currently on state benefits and has expressed remorse that he has upset Ms Ormrod. He is also embarrassed - who wouldn't be?"
A background probation report on Ravenscroft was read to the court and said: "He had suffered a blow to the head when a gas bottle fell on him a number of years ago, since then his mobility has significantly deteriorated.
"He had also been drinking in excess at the time of the event and would go for 14 or so pints at the local pub every other night and he never drank at home. Since this incident, he has reduced that number to three to six pints every other night.
"He has been retired for 10 years but used to be a plumber and electrician that ran his own business. He resides at home and doesn't see his family much save for his son, grandchildren and brother Brian, who is here in court with him today."
"He is not in a relationship and has previous good character, except for a one-off conviction for theft back in 1983."
Ravenscroft was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £22 pound victim surcharge.
Sentencing JP David Saville told him: "Although we are concerned about your behaviour, we will not impose a restraining order between you and Ms Ormrod due to the logistical difficulties this would entail. You have clearly taken this all onboard and should continue to avoid Ms Ormrod for the foreseeable future."
