Neighbours from hell: £900k farmhouse pair who designed ‘rural hell’ for citizens are spared jail

A pair established a ‘rural hell’ for their neighbours around a decade-prolonged row around a nation lane – when donning a balaclava to slash a pool wall to flood their backyard garden.

Retired aircraft engineer Stephen and Jacqueline Gee ran a ‘disgraceful and belligerent’ campaign of terror against Jason and Averil Minimal from their £900,000 farm in Puxey, in the vicinity of Sturminster Newton, Dorset.

Mr Minor, a embellished army significant, and his wife had been besieged by the Gees, who still left their daughter terrified 1 of them would climb by way of their bedroom window at evening.

The terrible blood was sparked over the use of the entry road among their farmhouse and the Littles’ household.

Retired aircraft engineer Stephen Gee was provided a significant dressing down by the judge

Embellished army major Jason Small was 1 of the victims of the couple’s reign of terror 

Stephen and Jacqueline Gee leaving Bournemouth Crown Court in their car or truck just after the situation

Shipping and delivery motorists and visitors would be verbally abused by the Gees, with a person courier requested to ‘get the f*** off my land’

They blocked off their accessibility with a gate and concrete bricks and even went to the trouble of placing up fake indicators to misdirect visitors to their assets.

A court docket listened to Mr Gee, 68, experienced been given a restraining order to continue to keep absent from the Littles in 2018 soon after he was convicted of resulting in criminal harm to their outside swimming pool.

He wore a balaclava and snuck on to their residence at evening to slash the pool with a knife, flooding their backyard. He was caught carrying out the act on CCTV.

Jason Little’s pool  was attacked by Gee, who slashed the facet of it to flood their backyard garden lawn

Stephen Gee household, still left, and Jason Little household, appropriate, which are at the centre of the row

But relatively than continue to keep the peace, the felony conviction only led to Mr Gee’s resentment to deepen, a court listened to.

He ‘put two fingers up’ at the courts by carrying on with his conduct.

Nigel Corridor, prosecuting, told Bournemouth Crown Court: ‘Mr and Mrs Minor moved into Milk Home on Fairview Farm in 2012 with their two daughters.

‘There is a monitor for access to their assets which they shared with the defendant. There was a background of unpleasantness among them.

‘In June 2016, Mr Gee went on to her house and using a thing sharp slashed the facet of the swimming pool resulting in water to flood her back garden.

‘As a consequence of that he was subjected to a restraining purchase.’

Gee was observed in a balaclava on CCTV skulking into the yard to attack the yard pool

A substantial gash was still left in the facet of the pool right after Gee went at it with his huge weapon

The houses of Stephen and Jacqueline Gee (blue circle) and Jason and Averil Very little (red circle) in North Dorset

Mr Corridor stated Mr Gee permitted his resentment to ferment for many years until he began harassing the loved ones all over again in 2020

Mr Hall added: ‘They experienced been interfering with shipping motorists and misdirecting men and women absent from the Little’s assets by placing up indications and impeding their obtain.

‘A delivery driver was stopped as Mr Gee shut the gates. Mrs Gee also came out and the driver noticed them both equally becoming angry and intense with Mrs Tiny.

‘In December 2020, concrete blocks had been pulled across the lane and signals erected.

‘A friend was seeking after Mrs Little’s cats and chickens in April 2021. As he came down the monitor he came throughout a gasoline shipping truck and heard Mr Gee shouting, ‘get the f**k off my land’.

‘Situations like this retained happening’.

Mr Hall read through a assertion by Mrs Minor in which she stated her family felt like they ended up living in a ‘state of siege’ and that the harassment experienced impacted her psychological health.

The mother-of-two mentioned: ‘Since the commencing they have subjected us to a campaign of harassment.

‘My youngsters are particularly frightened of them and their pet dogs. My elder daughter fears he will climb into her bedroom window.

‘He was filmed creeping into the backyard garden donning a balaclava. These sightings of him in the garden has shaped their childhood.

‘I fear continually for the protection of folks checking out our assets. They accuse us of attempting to destroy their animals.

‘Their behaviour is so erratic its like constantly dwelling beneath a point out of siege. We are a hard working, legislation abiding relatives.

‘This distress has brought on me to have ongoing treatment for anxiety’.

Mr Small served in the army and wonon the Armed forces Cross for displaying inspirational management in battle in Afghanistan in 2008.

Mr Gee pleaded guilty to charges of harassment and breaching a restraining order. Mrs Gee, 69, admitted harassment.

Mary Aspinall-Miles and Richard Martin, defending the Gees, equally argued that their shoppers had a ‘legitimate concern’ about delivery drivers and guests on the monitor that they personal.

Mr Martin, symbolizing Mr Gee, claimed: ‘The Gees possess the lane. Any individual that life in a rural place and has the joys of possessing a shared keep track of is of class responsible for the up preserve of it and producing fantastic any problems to the surface area.

‘There was a authentic concern for the lane alone or the animals that may have escaped and the normal nuisance of shipping and delivery drivers going up their lane.’

Mr Martin extra that there was just a solitary incident in which Mr Gee breached his restraining order, and that he experienced considering that taken out the gate in the lane.

Mrs Aspinall-Miles, defending Mrs Gee, said that the loss of her past great character was a ‘badge of shame.’

She reported: ‘She is not a nicely female. She has led a everyday living with out blame, committed to animal welfare and rescue.’

Decide Richard Pawson reported the pair experienced acted ‘disgracefully’ and explained to them to develop up.

He subjected them both to an indefinite restraining order. Mr Gee was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two yrs, though Mrs Gee’s 10 7 days sentence was suspended for a yr.

They have been fined a complete of £2,000 involving them, in addition a £3,000 target surcharge.

He claimed: ‘You are the two in your 60s. You have behaved disgracefully. I am not persuaded that there is a proper purpose for the grievance you nurse.

‘The qualifications put forward does not arrive shut to explaining your belligerent and really disagreeable behavior.

‘It is the simple fact that the two of you, for explanations unknown, have developed an obsession with your legislation abiding neighbours.

‘You have turned where by you reside into a rural hell. You both equally realized full well the impact of your actions and it is the explanation you have been so unpleasant.

‘The only point that is going to solve the situation is if you are capable to seem in yourselves and mature up’.

Decide Pawson place it to Mr Gee that the simple fact he was located guilty for damaging their swimming pool experienced produced him experience ‘even additional resentful’, including: ‘Your resentment need to be to oneself.’

He blasted him for his ‘flagrant disregard’ of the restraining buy imposed in 2018 and warned Mr Gee: ‘If there is a breach, I will offer with you myself. You arrived in just a whisker of jail currently.

‘You deficiency remorse and continue to deny the info of your conviction. You have place two fingers up to the court docket.’