'Dead man' carved on family's door
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A FORMER serviceman has been left living in fear after finding the words "Dead Man" carved into his door.
The 54-year-old, who asked not to be named in case of reprisal, said he and his family have been left unable to sleep after a string of incidents at their Moray home.
It is claimed a "neighbour from hell" and her acquaintances are at the root of the trouble, which kicked off in earnest in August when a bank holiday weekend turned badly wrong.
Roused from sleep by a commotion outside his property, he looked out to see a friend of his neighbour banging on his car.
"I said, ‘Look, I’ll phone the police’, and the man said, ‘I’ll give you something to phone the police for’, and then he went totally mental," the resident said.
A wheelie bin and a garden ornament were thrown through his window, he said, before police arrived and took the man into custody. It is understood he was thereafter handed a jail sentence following an appearance in court.
Far from being over for the family, however, they claim it was just the beginning.
"Carved on my door the following week was ‘Dead Man’. You have to get in through the security doors to get to my door so someone had to let whoever did that into the block," he said.
"One of the people who visits my neighbour said to my face, ‘I’m going to f***ing kill you’."
A further incident saw the man verbally abused when he asked two men who regularly visit the property to stop sitting on his car.
"There is a hell of an atmosphere. They have parties willy nilly and you can hear them jumping on their floor – my ceiling – and laughing.
"I used to have a good life, and now we have a terrible life. It is the sheer fear, the intimidation factor. Even if they don’t say anything, a look can sink a thousand boats, and we get looks from the various people going in and out. They have also taken to banging my bedroom window as they go in and out as well, just to make sure I’m awake all the hours.
"I’m ex-military and had six tours in Northern Ireland, and you were scared, but this is a different fear. In Ireland I could protect myself; here you have nothing."
The family have lived in the home for about 15 years, having bought it from the local authority a decade ago.
"Until she moved into the block, if you gave me the phonebook I couldn’t have picked better neighbours," he said.
"One year ago today, I had the perfect lifestyle. I had a nice family, nice car, nice home, what I thought was in a reasonable area. Now, all hell has broken loose."
Terrified and living on their nerves, they are even prepared to move to get away from the situation if the local authority are unable to rehouse the neighbour.
"But who would buy my house now? Under Scottish Law, if you are asked you have to tell if you have bad neighbours. I can assure you that you wouldn’t buy it knowing my neighbours.
"I never bought it as an investment, I bought it as my home. And I had all intentions of seeing out my days in that home. Now, it is just a house.
"My life ceased to be a life from that bank holiday onwards and I feel like I am totally the innocent party being victimised here. We’re now nearly a month down the line, and little has happened.
"I’ve asked the council, if they can’t move them, for whatever reason, could they move us.
"As it stands, the housing department have told me they would get back to me in 20 working days, but to me this is urgent, it is life-threatening. We are terrified of reprisals."
Police have been involved and the resident said he had nothing but praise for the force.
Local councillor John Divers said he had raised concerns with local officers and the housing department.
"I’ve full sympathy in this situation. He has had windows smashed and cars damaged," said Councillor Divers, adding that he would continue to push for resolution.
The council said a complaint was raised with the authority at the end of last month.
"An area housing officer has visited the resident and his neighbour. Since then a further incident has taken place which area housing staff are investigating," a spokesman said.
