Neighbour fined for throwing dog poo over next door’s fence in ongoing row

Michael Shell appeared South East Nortumberland Magistrates’ Court in Bedlington (Picture: NCJ Media)

A disgruntled neighbour who hurled bags of dog poo over next door’s fence has been left with a court bill of more than £1,000. 

Michael Sheen, 51, was involved in an ongoing row with his victims, who live beside him in Cramlington, Northumberland. 

They identified him as the culprit after setting up CCTV to find out who was behind the disgusting act, assuming it was passing dog-walkers. 

When they confronted Sheen about it, he stormed around to their front door and shoved it against the female occupant, knocking her backwards into the hallway. 

He admitted harassment and common assault committed in October last year at South East Northumberland Magistrates’ Court. 

Gurjot Kaur, prosecuting, said: ‘The complainants and the defendant are neighbours and they have had ongoing issues with the defendant for some time. 

‘Between October 12 and October 14, they state that bags of dog excrement were being thrown into their garden.  

‘They don’t own a dog and they initially thought it was passers-by responsible, so they installed CCTV and it captured this defendant’s conduct of throwing the bags over his fence and into their garden. 

Shell was fined £707 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £283 victim surcharge (Picture: NCJ Media)

‘As a result, the defendant is confronted by [the complainants] shouting over the back garden fence.  

‘On October 14, the defendant attended their front door. [The female victim] tells the defendant to go away and that the police would be notified. 

‘[The female victim] tries to shut the door but the defendant pushed the door against her. She says it hit her on the shoulder and neck and it sends her back into the passageway was a result of the impact.’ 

In a statement, the woman said she was now scared to be in her own home due to the ‘unpredictable’ actions of Shell.

She also suffered soft tissue damage from the assault.

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Chris Harbinson, defending, said Shell had no past convictions, had pleaded guilty and was ‘remorseful and regretful’ of his actions.

Mr Harbinson said: ‘In 2008, he suffered a brain aneurysm, which caused him to lose his career and a lot of his personal life.

‘He has long-term cognitive and memory problems and takes medication. As a result, he does have memory issues and his decision-making process can be impulsive sometimes.’

Magistrates fined Shell £707 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £283 victim surcharge.

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The bags of poo were chucked over the fence following an ongoing dispute.