Couple ‘banned from looking at next-door neighbours' home’ by police

'If we walk through the village we have to keep our heads hung low. We can't walk to and from the beach or through the village without fear of being prosecuted'

A married couple have been banned from looking at their next door neighbours’ home after they were accused of carrying out a campaign of harassment.

Nigel and Sheila Jacklin were issued with a warning by their local council and threatened with further action by police after making a complaint about builders.

The couple, who live in the village of Norman's Bay, near Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, have also been banned from walking past their neighbours' property to the beach because it forms part of an “exclusion zone” imposed against them.

Five years ago clinical psychologist Dr Stephane Duckett and partner Norinne Betjemann bought a 120-year-old, disused glass glazing workshop opposite the Jacklins’ house and began converting it into a holiday home.

However, Mr and Mrs Jacklin soon made a series of complaints about their new neighbours to the police and Rother District Council, including allegations about noisy builders, verbal abuse and light pollution.

The local authority instead launched an investigation into the Jacklins themselves, hitting the couple with a “community protection warning” letter.

“The police failed to investigate our side of the story,” Mr Jacklin said. “They treated us like criminals even though we had reported problems with Dr Duckett and Ms Betjemann for five years. We live by the beach because we like to go to the sea; this action prevents us from enjoying the beautiful location we live in.

“If we walk through the village we have to keep our heads hung low. We can't walk to and from the beach or through the village without fear of being prosecuted.”

Mr Jacklin claims their new neighbours objected to their presence after buying the property.

“They would see us, come out of their kitchen and film us,” he added: “Sometimes they would wave at us to get our attention. They've never spoken to us about the issue of where we go or approached us saying they don't like what we do.”

The Jacklins received the warning letter from Sussex Police sent on behalf of the council in January 2018, telling them their conduct was having a “detrimental effect” on the “quality of life” of their neighbours.

It threatened them with a Community Protection Notice (CPN), an order designed to tackle anti-social behaviour, if they failed to comply.

The Jacklins' letter included a list of things they had to “immediately stop” doing, including using “foul language” in public, contacting Mr Duckett and Ms Betjemann by any means, or entering a specified “zone” around their house.

It also said they must not “be perceived by any person to be looking into any neighbour's property from outside their property”.

Offenders who breach a CPN repeatedly can be hit with fines or even a prison sentence.

A Rother District Council spokesman said: “Community Protection Notices (CPNs) are aimed at preventing unreasonable behaviour that is having a negative impact on residents' quality of life. In this case, Sussex Police issued a warning letter on behalf of the council in an attempt to resolve a long-standing neighbourhood dispute.”

Mr Duckett and Ms Betjemann declined to comment on the case, as did Sussex Police.

Additional reporting by agencies