(Image: ANDY FUTERS)
A foul-mouthed County Durham dad hurled abuse at his next door neighbour and snatched her doorbell camera leaving her “in fear in her own home".
Scott Eddie threatened to smash the window of his Twelfth Street neighbour in Horden and even “knock her out” during a campaign of harassment earlier this year.
The 34-year-old “shouted abuse” at the woman on numerous occasions after becoming enraged over the sound of “dogs barking” and children “going up and down the stairs”.
Newton Aycliffe Magistrates Court heard how Eddie, a dad-of-two, took out the victim's doorbell camera while she was out of the house on April 5.
The victim received a doorbell notification and, initially thinking it was a parcel being dropped off, checked the app.
Syed Ali, prosecuting, said: “She noticed that the front doorbell was missing and due to this she checked the app where there was footage of the defendant.”
Mr Ali read out an impact statement from the victim, who said that she had bought the camera in the first place “due to previous issues” with Eddie.
“This made me scared to leave the house even more,” the victim said.
“I no longer feel safe. I don’t have the money to buy a new camera. My children are so scared in case something else happens now.”
The court heard how, during another incident on April 25, Eddie “came out of the address and was shouting abuse” at the victim due to the sound of dogs barking and “threatened to smash the window of the house and knock [the victim] out”.
The victim said Eddie, who pleaded guilty to harassment without violence and theft on the day of trial, made complaints about the children “going up and down the stairs”.
During one incident, when the victim’s mother was in the garden, Eddie “screamed at her in the garden, calling her an old .
Eddie also once banged on the wall next to the victim's address and shouted “be f**quiet’ and would often call her a “rat” and a “” as she would leave the home.
On another occasion, he called the victim a “fat ” after saying: "It is about time you are back the dogs have been barking all day."
The victim said: “I live in fear in my own home. I am terrified and often check my CCTV camera as I leave the home because I fear he is going to be outside.”
Tokeer Amin, mitigating, said Eddie, who has six previous convictions, had a five year period without reoffending and “engaged positively with the preparation of the pre-sentence report”.
He said Eddie, who has since moved, knows his behaviour “needs to change” and that he “needs to develop a better way of dealing with frustration”.
He described the incidents as an “isolated occurrence".
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Mrs Julie Pikesley, chairwoman of the magistrates' bench, handed Eddie a 12-month community order with 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
He was also ordered to carry out 90 hours of unpaid work and pay a total of £544.99, which includes the cost of the £49.99 doorbell camera.
He was also handed a restraining order for two years.