Ipswich 71-year-old damaged car in neighbour dispute over shared driveway

A 71-year-old Ipswich man has appeared in court after damaging his neighbour’s car in a dispute over a shared driveway.

Raymond Borthwick, of Foxhall Road, pleaded guilty at South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court to causing damage valued at more than £1,000 to a silver Honda Accord.

The car belonged to Danut Tudorancea, who lived next door to Borthwick.

Wayne Ablett, prosecuting, said Mr Tudorancea had parked his car outside his home. When he next saw the vehicle it has sustained damage to the side panels.

CCTV footage was checked and it showed Borthwick had been the culprit.

Police initially attempted to deal with the matter by way of a community resolution to avoid Borthwick having to go to court.

However, due the value of the damage caused this was not possible.

Mr Ablett said Borthwick told police he was provoked as Mr Tudorancea had been deliberately parking the car so it blocked his right of way.

Although the figure for the damage to the Honda in the charge Borthwick admitted was said to be £1,200, magistrates were shown a quote which stated repairs would cost £1,368.

The offence took place on January 14.

Borthwick, representing himself, claimed the damage had been a minor scratch.

He said: “I have had a lot of provocation from these people.”

The court was told his neighbours have a lot of cars and had been persistently blocking the shared driveway.

Borthwick added: “I lost my temper a little bit. Obviously I shouldn’t have done.

“I’ve had to call the police several times in the past to shift it (the car).”

Magistrates were told the people living next to Borthwick had been there for around a year and they had a number of cars which the 71-year-old described as a “damn nuisance”.

He said: “I asked them not to block my right of way more than once. They wouldn’t listen.”

Borthwick was ordered to pay £100 compensation to Mr Tudorancea. Magistrates said they would not be ordering him to pay costs.