A racist father subjected his neighbours to an “obsessive” harassment campaign, including encouraging his children to urinate in his car.
Martina Chapman-Clegg and her family have been kicked out of their home in East Malling, Kent, over fears of their “nightmare” neighbour Michael Atkinson.
Atkinson subjected them to a series of “obsessive” abuses, including encouraging his three children to urinate in his car and cheering them on when they did, a court heard.
He also subjected Mrs Chapman-Clegg. to threats of violence and highly offensive abuse, some of which was caught on camera.
The harassment by the father of three, who has 183 offences to his name, continued “without respite” and forced the family to move out of their beloved home.
Michael Atkinson (pictured) has been jailed for 27 weeks and given a five-year restraining order banning him from contact with his former neighbours.
Martina Chapman-Clegg (right) and her partner Andy (left) were kicked out of their home in East Malling, Kent, over fears of their ‘nightmare’ neighbour Michael Atkinson.
Ms Chapman-Clegg said police officers advised her to leave the home in East Malling, Kent, where she had lived for 11 years.
The council moved the family into temporary accommodation for seven months until a new permanent home was available.
Although they now live at another address, Mrs Chapman-Clegg admitted she obsessively locks her front doors and windows and that her children still suffer from night terrors.
Atkinson, from East Malling, Kent, initially denied the offences when he appeared at the Magistrates’ Court.
However, when his case was sent to the Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to aggravated racial harassment between 19 February and 3 March 2023.
Last week he was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court for 27 weeks and given a five-year restraining order banning him from contact with his former neighbours.
Mrs Chapman-Clegg, 40, said: “We were so happy and content there and then he came along and completely ruined our lives. We were basically homeless.”
“It was almost like an obsession. He was obsessed with harassing us as a family.
‘It had a huge impact on me, whether it was my confidence in being able to go to the store with my family and feel safe or having to constantly look over my shoulder.
‘You read about it in the news, about neighbors from hell, but you don’t expect to experience it and not on the continuous level that it was.
‘The acts that were carried out, such as having to watch your car being urinated on and the continued threats every night, were just relentless.
“It has affected us enormously as a family and, although we have already moved, we continue to close the entrance doors and windows.”
In a clip played at the sentencing hearing, Ms Chapman-Clegg stood at the door of her home as the 37-year-old unleashed his tirade, initially over a garden fence and then over a hedge dividing the two properties.
Screaming and swearing, he threatened the mother, saying: “I’m going to smash your head in, I’m going to stomp on your f***ing head and your f***ing business,” before crudely resorting to a racial slur.
Another clip showed the foul-mouthed builder walking directly towards Ms Chapman-Clegg, before returning to the property boundary to continue his speech, which included a racist comment about having sex with black men.
In a clip played at the sentencing hearing, Atkinson (pictured) unleashed his tirade, initially over a garden fence and then over a hedge dividing the two properties.
Prosecutor Trevor Wright told the court: ‘There was a lot of shouting and a lot of words being said… Other images were quite similar and included intimidating behaviour – Atkinson telling his son to urinate in the car and then applauding him for doing so.
“There was another scene where Atkinson was swearing at the camera and using the word ‘nonce’,” Wright added. “These are just examples of the way the defendant behaved and provoked, in particular towards Ms Chapman-Clegg.”
In a victim impact statement written by Ms Chapman-Clegg and read to the court, she expressed the “devastation and damaging effects” she and her family felt as a result of Atkinson’s harassment.
She also said it “broke her heart” that people were subjected to “vile and vulgar abuse” simply because of their race.
The court was also told that during the family’s 999 call, one of their sons could be heard screaming in fear and still suffers from night terrors.
Atkinson, who had been diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, depression and anxiety, was said to have been breaking the law every year of his life since he was 16.
He has racked up multiple offences including threatening behaviour, harassment, intimidation, battery and assault.
The court also heard that Atkinson was born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
The 37-year-old also has a number of family problems: he does not know who his father is and his mother was murdered when he was just ten years old.
Atkinson has said the system has failed him and that his offending began at the age of 16 as a “cry for help”.
But his lawyer said at the sentencing hearing that the recovering alcoholic, now 18 months sober, wanted her to apologize on his behalf for his behavior, much of which occurred when he had been drinking.
“I have been instructed to say very little about the offence itself because I understand that, regardless of any provocation or unpleasantness between the parties, it was unacceptable,” Donna Longcroft said.
As for the racial element, he asks me to apologize on his behalf. That is not the language he would normally use.
“He accepts that his reaction was wrong and that he should have responded to his emotions in a completely different way. Perhaps without the alcohol he could have done it.”
Ms Longcroft added that his time in custody had been “fruitful” in terms of gaining qualifications and that, as his marriage has now broken down, he plans, upon his release, to live with his uncle in Ashford.
“In short, he has put his hands up, taken steps to take charge of his behavior and reorient his lifestyle,” the lawyer added.
Screaming and swearing, Atkinson (pictured) threatened the mother, saying: “I’m going to smash your f***ing head in, I’m going to stomp on your f***ing head.”
Sentencing, Judge James Dawes KC said his abuse was “very disgraceful” and had had a “considerable impact”.
“You lose something of yourself because something inside you collapses when you say such an insult to someone,” the judge explained.
‘You shouldn’t do it, you know you shouldn’t do it, and if you need an incentive not to do it, every time you do it, something inside you dies.
‘But the effect on another person can be substantial because the fear is that they may be attacked, not because they have done anything wrong, but simply because of their appearance, and that is a serious matter.
‘If you were told that and you had that fear, then you would be equally upset, and if you think bad things have happened to you, then you are just adding more bad things by doing it to someone else.
‘But you went ahead for several days and encouraged your children to urinate in your car.
‘Your threats of violence included headbutting your partner (Ms Chapman-Clegg), and you continued to verbally abuse them day after day.’
But the recorder added that while Atkinson had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and should be “commended” for his sobriety, his mitigation was outweighed by the aggravating factors in the case.
Appropriate punishment could therefore only be achieved by an immediate prison sentence of 27 weeks.
Atkinson, who was the subject of a “Wanted” appeal by Kent Police earlier this year in relation to a court order and harassment, is currently serving 120 days for breaching a suspended sentence imposed for an unrelated driving offence.
As he was being pulled out of the dock he was heard saying: “Money, money, money.”
The Chapman-Cleggs, who sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing, were praised by the judge for their bravery in attending court.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Chapman-Clegg told KentOnline she feels her family have finally got the justice they deserve.
Atkinson appeared at Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) last week. The Chapman-Cleggs sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing.
She added: “It’s been horrible for the children. They are traumatised and we are trying to reassure them that everything is OK now and we are safe.”
‘It’s still difficult to talk about it because, although he has been sentenced, which is what he deserves, the long-term effects of having that fear installed in you have greatly affected our mental health as a family.
‘Hopefully, with time and now that we have the restraining order for five years, it will just dissipate eventually.
“For us, the most important thing is the restraining order, as it gives us security for a long time. For us, as a family, it is very important to have it.
“You can trust the justice system to do the right thing. We put ourselves out there so our children can see that we can stand up to bullies and racists.”
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