This is the moment a man climbed onto a roof and threw tiles at his neighbors as he “systematically destroyed” two houses at the end of a bitter seven-year row over a fence.
Mark Coates, 57, punched a hole in the roof of the terraced houses before going out and throwing the tiles on the ground, a court heard.
Her terrified neighbor Janice Turner, 66, watched through tears as the destruction of her property unfolded.
After feeling a slab fly past her face, she called police and after a standoff lasting more than two hours, Coates was eventually arrested, the court was told.
The alleged incident on June 10 in Robertsbridge, near Hastings, this year ended a seven-year dispute between neighbors over their shared boundary which began when a fence panel fell.
Lewes Crown Court heard Coates, 57, barricaded himself in his home and began “systematically destroying” the house to reduce its value.
The court heard that after years of litigation, the case finally reached the High Court, where a judge ruled against Coates.
As a result, the property was to be sold to reimburse Miss Turner and Mr Greenwood’s legal fees, as well as for damage caused to their property and to compensate for the harassment they had suffered.
Video shows Mark Coates ‘systematically destroying’ the house as a bitter dispute escalated.
Mark Coates (right) arrives at Lewes Crown Court for a trial into a border dispute
Janice Turner (pictured with partner Brian Greenwood), 66, looked on through tears as she watched the destruction of her property unfold.
But just three days before handing over the keys to the house, Coates decided to cause massive damage to the three-bedroom property, the jury heard.
The video, captured on a police body camera, shows officers trying to reason with Coates and convince him to get off the roof.
The court heard Coates told officers: ‘A judge and corrupt police robbed me of this house. I will cause as much damage as I can to devalue the house.
Although not captured on video, Coates climbed onto the roof and began breaking shingles from the neighbors’ house next door, throwing them into the yard.
Miss Turner said: ‘There were a variety of loud noises coming from inside her house, banging and crashing.
‘I went up to the garden and Mr Coates was inside and he was making a hole from inside his attic and he was cutting the batons and pulling the tiles off the roof.
‘He was picking up some of them and throwing them into the garden and towards me. I was standing next to my greenhouse and felt debris from the roof pass my face.’
He said when the hole was big enough to fit through, Coates climbed onto the roof.
Coates punched a hole in the roof, climbed out and began throwing shingles onto the ground.
Janice Turner (pictured), 66, and her partner David Greenwood, 70, claim they were left living in fear of violence after their long-running row with Mark Coates.
Miss Turner said: ‘He continued to remove everything from that roof and then tore up the party wall area and completely removed the best part of the roof at the rear of my property.
‘I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I was very distressed, I was very afraid and I was crying. I felt very, very scared.
“He was systematically and vindictively destroying property. He made a hole in the beams. He left his house down the stairs. Its objective was to destroy and diminish its value. He was calculating and spiteful.
Mr Greenwood told the jury: “Tiles were being thrown everywhere, chimneys were being broken. I was quite shocked. I had never seen anyone destroy a house like that before. The whole situation was completely out of control. It was just a “Total, total destruction.”
In the video, shown to the court, Coates told officers his goal was to cause as much damage as possible.
He said he wanted the charges to be so serious that he would have a jury trial where he could expose the officials who had used “corruption and prejudice” to strip him of his home.
Coates was eventually arrested and charged with two counts of harassment and two counts of criminal damage. He denies all charges.
Janice Turner, 66, and her partner David Greenwood, 70, claim they were left living in fear of violence after the long row with Mark Coates.
Coates was previously accused of repeatedly swearing at the couple when they were in the garden, throwing stones at their bedroom window and car and leaving them intimidated.
The court heard Coates drove his VW van to the garage where Greenwood worked as a mechanic.
While performing diagnostics on a car outside the garage, Coates headed straight toward him.
Rio Pahlavanpour, the prosecutor, said Greenwood had to move “quickly” to avoid being hit by the speeding van.
The couple were later walking to their car when Coates walked out into their garden and threatened to slit their throats, the jury heard.
Miss Turner told the jury: “David walked through the door and came back and said, ‘He’s just threatened to slit my throat,’ and I said, ‘I know I heard it.'”
‘I heard him say, ‘I’ll cut your throat.’ It was addressed to both of them. I was worried because I believed he was on bail for something at the time and shouldn’t contact us.’
On a second occasion, Mr Greenwood was walking towards his greenhouse when Coates swore at him again and said: “You’re taking your fucking ass.”
The case continues.