Spalding woman (67) a '˜prisoner in her own home'

A woman recovering from breast cancer claims she is being forced out of her Spalding home by a neighbour's five-year campaign of intimidation against her.
A woman recovering from breast cancer claims a neighbour has forced her to leave her Spalding home after 22 years.  Photo by Michael Fysh.A woman recovering from breast cancer claims a neighbour has forced her to leave her Spalding home after 22 years.  Photo by Michael Fysh.
A woman recovering from breast cancer claims a neighbour has forced her to leave her Spalding home after 22 years. Photo by Michael Fysh.

The 67-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, claimed she was reported to police twice within four years for allegedly making racist remarks towards her neighbour.

But the dispute worsened in June when, according to the woman, the neighbour allowed a friend to set two ‘husky-type’ dogs loose in her home, knocking her to the ground while eating dinner.

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The woman said: “I’ve had the police called out on me twice, in 2011 and 2015, when I did nothing wrong.

“Then in June 2016, I had two uncontrolled husky-type dogs, owned by my neighbour’s friend, rampaging through my house.

“They knocked me over while I was eating my tea and my sister had to come over to help me get the dogs out of my house.

“Now I’ve had to put a child safety gate up outside my back door, while the police want me to keep quiet and accept everything that’s thrown at me.”

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The woman, a retired cleaner, moved into her home in 1994, with the neighbour concerned moving in nine years later.

“I was the only person who would talk to them and for the first eight years, everything was fine,” the woman said.

“Then in 2011, the dogs started leaving mess on my driveway and I told the neighbour to ‘please take it away’.

“I was called a racist and the next thing I knew, a policeman came round to my house and said ‘we’ve come to see you about a racist remark for which I could arrest you’.

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“That’s where it started and then last year, we had an argument which ended up with a policeman saying that I’d something racist again.”

The woman described her ordeal as “mental torture”, especially after the dogs ran into her house in June.

“At 67 years of age and after 22 years in this house, I’m having to muster all the energy to move,” the woman said.

“I’ve done everything possible that I can to keep out of sight to the point where I’m a prisoner in my own home.”

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Coun Graham Dark, South Holland District Council member for Spalding St John’s, said: “I’ve seen the woman on several occasions and I’m fully aware that all of the necessary authorities are paying attention to things.”

Both Insp Jo Reeves of Lincolnshire Police and a district council spokesman confirmed they were working together “to investigate reports of issues between residents in this area and to resolve the ongoing issues” between the woman and her neighbour.

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