Tormented locals of a South Derbyshire village have spoken of their relief after a 'nasty' traveller was jailed following a year-long saga of harassment - including flooding his neighbours’ gardens and building a travellers' site without permission.
John Doherty's 38-week prison sentence has brought huge relief to Overseal villagers who have faced intimidation from the 35-year-old for more than a year while he knocked down walls and blocked streets.
He was also caught filling sewage pipes with concrete and building walls to cover his neighbours' windows.
One neighbour was also unable to leave her home unless she swung her legs over a wall built by Doherty in front of her house, it was claimed.
Councillor Pat Murray, who represents the village on South Derbyshire District Council, said he became involved following complaints from constituents that Doherty had put concrete on his land behind 149 Woodville Road, Overseal, to make way for a travellers' site for which he didn’t have permission.
The hardcore concrete then meant that water was unable to drain away and, instead, flooded neighbours' gardens.
Despite his plans being refused by the district council, Doherty won permission at the appeal stage after an independent Government inspector ruled that Doherty's plans for build houses on the site had already been approved.
However, Doherty was also slapped with an enforcement notice requiring him to remove everything, such as the concrete, from the site, which Councillor Murray claims has not yet been done.
He said: "He was tormenting these locals and the whole street. I was involved from when he started putting concrete down and going against all the regulations which caused no end of flooding in gardens and blocking off the street doing electrical work when there was no licence.
"It was obvious that things weren't as they should be and the appropriate people needed to be approached. It took a long time to collate all the evidence.
"It was winding people up and they said enough is enough and the people had spoken and the council (and other partner agencies) had no alternative but to take him to court about the harassment.
"The planning permission still stands but he still has to abide by the enforcement notice and restrictions. The enforcement order still stands. He has not moved anything out and if we have heavy rain again then there will be flooding again.
"The council, the planning department, wardens and the environmental department have really acted professionally and the residents acted professionally too. One resident was forced to live with family periodically because of the harassment.
"He had built a wall around her home so she couldn't get out of her home. She had to lift her legs over the wall to get past. One weekend the residents all rallied round to replace the wall and make her a gateway to get out."
While his prison sentence has been welcomed, residents are concerned as to what will happen upon his release.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "He's certainly caused so much unrest in the village and as I have seen the nasty side of him twice now, he seriously is a very nasty intimidating man.
"His prison sentence has been a huge relief to many that they can live in peace for at least a few weeks which is very sad as they all feel when he comes out it will all start again.
"It's awful. These people have lived in the village, living a nice life some for many years, and people who have worked hard to get their homes only for him to buy this land and cause nothing but heartache."
The resident also believe planning permission should have never have been given to Doherty.
He was also made the subject of a five-year Criminal Behaviour Order. This prevents Doherty from having any outdoor fires, blocking access to vehicles and operating outdoor machinery.
After Doherty brought hardcore onto the land without permission, he was issued with an enforcement notice by the district council requiring him to remove everything. The hardcore caused homes to be flooded as water was unable to drain away.
Under the terms of his Criminal Behaviour Order, Doherty must not:
1. Personally or by instructing, permitting or encouraging others, act in an anti-social manner, that it is to say a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, to victim, or any one or more persons within Overseal.
2. Cause, permit or encourage, any controlled waste to be accumulated at his home address in Woodville Road, Overseal, and/or dispose of such waste without lawful authority. This requirement shall not apply to such domestic household wastes as are lawfully secured and contained in containers, namely domestic ‘wheelie bins’, at the premises in accordance with the requirements of the local waste collection authority, South Derbyshire District Council.
3. Have any outdoor fires on the land within the land perimeters of his home address in Woodville Road that cause nuisance to other residents or potentially cause their health to be put at risk through emitting thick smoke.
4. Park any vehicle, caravan or trailer wholly or partly on the footpaths in Woodville Road, Overseal.
5. Block the access, including vehicle access of any resident of Woodville Road, Overseal in such a way which would impede them from driving on or off their property or cause them any difficulty in accessing their property.
6. Inhibit the views out of neighbours' windows with any construction, tree or shrub in a manner that may be considered designed, intended, or calculated to cause nuisance or annoyance to any other neighbour on Woodville Road, Overseal.
7. Operate any outdoor machinery, power tools or undertake any construction work within the area of his home address in Woodville Road; after the hours of 7pm or before 8am Monday to Friday, outside of the hours 8am to 1.30pm on Saturdays and at no time on Sundays or Bank or Public Holidays.
8. Cause or act in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any one or more persons within Overseal, by way of carrying out, permitting or causing works of construction, demolition, alteration or other similar works or activities in breach of planning controls or conditions or otherwise at unreasonable hours or in such manner that may be considered to be carried out with a view to causing harassment, alarm or distress.
9. Directly or indirectly, whether alone or in concert with or by assisting, permitting or encouraging others, cause or act in a manner likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person by way of the playing of amplified music, abusive or excessive shouting or use of intimidation within Overseal.
10. Directly or indirectly, whether alone or in concert with or by assisting, permitting or encouraging others, use signs or gestures calculated, displayed or carried out in a manner likely to cause distress to the victim Overseal.
