A COUPLE banned from viewing their neighbour’s house have had the last laugh after winning a court case.
Nigel and Sheila Jacklin branded the investigation into the 11-year dispute a “spectacular misuse of police time” after they left court.
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Shelia and Nigel Jacklin outside Brighton Magistrates’ Court Credit: SWNS
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They were once forbidden to look into a neighbor’s homeCredit: SWNS
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An exclusion zone around a neighbour’s house in Normans Bay, East SussexCredit: SWNS
The row in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, saw the couple accused of “singing, staring and fingering” their neighbor and his partner from a nearby beach.
Both were charged with harassment but claimed the chanting and finger-pointing were part of Ms Jacklin’s Hindu prayer routine.
Mr Jacklin, 62, is also accused of assaulting their neighbours’ female friend during a separate row outside his £600,000 home.
However, all charges against the pair were dropped when they appeared before magistrates in Brighton on Tuesday.
The decision ended a long feud that began when the couple first complained about construction work at their neighbor’s house.
‘RELIEVED AND DELIGHTED’
The Jacklins have both pleaded not guilty to harassment.
Mr Jacklin has also pleaded not guilty to assault and the two claim they were assaulted.
The Crown Prosecution Service applied for an adjournment which was refused by the court, meaning the prosecution offered no evidence – and the Jacklins were told they were free to go.
Mr Jacklin, a statistician and market researcher, said: “We are relieved, elated and annoyed.
“This should never have come to court. This is the fourth time my wife has been investigated for praying on the beach.
I was fed up with my neighbors peeking into my garden so I made a DIY privacy fence – it was so easy and still looks as good as the day I made it
“We were investigated 12 times, in no case was any action taken against us.
“It’s not a series of police mistakes – it’s an abuse of police power.”
Ms Jacklin, 61, supported by her family, sobbed in the dock as the case was dismissed.
Meanwhile, Mr Jacklin, a councillor, said the couple had spent “tens of thousands of pounds” on legal fees due to police investigations and court battles.
The feud began in 2013 when clinical psychologist Dr. Stephane Duckett and his partner Norinne Betjemann bought a 120-year-old, abandoned glass workshop opposite their home.
A couple from London then decided to turn it into a £400,000 holiday home.
Mr and Mrs Jacklin have made a number of complaints about their neighbors to the authorities, including noisy builders, verbal abuse and light pollution.
The Jacklin family were then sent a community protection warning letter by Rother County Council.
They were also banned from entering the “exclusion zone” around the property owned by Dr Duckett and Ms Betjemann.
In July last year, the Jacklins reported their neighbors for harassment when they claimed Ms Jacklin had been filmed trying to pray.
REQUIREMENTS DUE TO ATTACK
In September that year, Mr Jacklin claims he was attacked after a friend of Dr Duckett’s approached them on the beach outside their home.
As the couple returned to the house, Mr Jacklin claims the woman shouted at Mrs Jacklin: “The whole village wants you dead.”
He said he approached the woman and she “choked” him before claiming he assaulted her, which he vehemently denies.
He said: “The woman then claimed I had knocked her against the fence, kicked her dog and headbutted him repeatedly. It was completely made up.
“Once she choked me, she started towards me again and I put my hand out to stop her. That was the only contact we had.”
Mr Jacklin said three minutes of CCTV footage of the attack had never been found, despite a request from his lawyers.
He called the ordeal a “spectacular misuse of police time”, adding: “I ran in the general election, and one of the reasons I chose to do so was because the police were investigating us, not our neighbours. We need to stand up against the abuse of power.
“My wife’s Hindu faith helped her get through this. We have been there for 30 years and plan to live here forever.”
‘EXTREMELY STRESSFUL’
Beverley Cherrill, defending the couple, told the court: “This case has been extremely stressful for the Jacklins.
“They really had enough of it. These accusations have caused great mental damage.”
Prosecutor Piers Restell has not formally offered any evidence in the case relating to the alleged July 2023 incidents.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “We have requested an adjournment in this case to meet our disclosure obligations following late defense submissions.
“Unfortunately, the court refused this request and unfortunately we had no choice but to offer any evidence.”
A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Sussex Police carried out a thorough, impartial investigation into multiple reports of harassment and one reported assault against three people between July and September 2023.
“Investigations were carried out without prejudice, including multiple statements from informants and witnesses, as well as interviews with both suspects.
“Evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which approved charges of harassment and assault with a club, before evidence was not offered after magistrates refused an adjournment request from the Crown Prosecution Service.
“Sussex Police will continue to do everything they can to protect our communities and ensure justice for victims of crime.”
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Source: HIS Education