A man has been convicted of breaching a community protection notice (CNP) which prohibited him from harassing his neighbours.
Chippenham man Timothy Hewett, 53, failed to attend his trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court yesterday; he was found guilty of the offences in his absence.
The defendant, of Acacia Close, was said to have filmed his next-door neighbour Stuart Hunt in August 2019 and again filmed him – as he was bringing in his dustbins – in May last year, breaching a CPN previously imposed for similar offences.
He was also accused of harassing another neighbour by padlocking a chain to her property with a notice saying: “PATHWAY CLOSED”, and removing four paving slaps from her porch.  Due to her death, the charges were withdrawn by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Hewett was given a ten-year restraining order preventing him from going to his neighbour’s property.
The order also prohibits him from: contacting Mr Hunt and his family directly or indirectly, using video recording equipment to film the family and dispositing any items on the communal turning area in Acacia Close.
He was also fined £1000 and told to pay court costs of £620 and a victim surcharge of £100.
