A PROMINENT Norfolk landowner was given a restraining order yesterday after she admitted hanging a dead bird outside a councillor's house during a long-running feud.

A PROMINENT Norfolk landowner was given a restraining order yesterday after she admitted hanging a dead bird outside a councillor's house during a long-running feud.

Diana Pritchard, 66-year-old proprietor of Antingham Hall, near North Walsham, harassed district councillor Graham Jones and his partner Madeline Haydon by hanging poultry outside the couple's home, magistrates heard.

She pleaded guilty before Yarmouth magistrates and admitted six other charges of harassment which involved a poster campaign maligning her neighbours between June 2007 and February 2008.

Pritchard's restraining order banned her from communicating with Mr Jones, a North Norfolk district councillor for Antingham.

Fergus Harrold, prosecuting, said Pritchard strung up the cockerel last November thinking Mrs Haydon had run over it, and it was left outside Mr Jones and Mrs Haydon's house for some months.

Mr Harrold also described how Pritchard put up signs around her grounds including one saying "Cllr Lib Dem Gra'ham Jones Interfers with these bins" and "Cllr Lib Dem Gra'ham Jones is a woman beater".

Amrik Wahiwala, in mitigation, said the signs were put up because Mr Jones had put his bins in the wrong place. The woman beater accusation was alleged to have happened after Pritchard was injured while they were having an argument.

The dispute between the neighbours started 11 years ago when Mr Jones and Mrs Haydon bought the Old Coach House which used to belong to Pritchard as part of Antingham Hall which she had herself bought in 1985 with her then-husband Arthur Pritchard, an architect.

But after an argument about parking when Mr Jones and Mrs Haydon moved in, the relationship between the neighbours deterior-ated.

Mr Wahiwala said the feud started as soon as the pair moved in as the delivery people wanted to cut down trees.

Pritchard agreed she had gone too far and admitted the way the posters were phrased had caused offence.

Yarmouth magistrates sentenced Pritchard to a 12-month community order in which she will have to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

A restraining order banning her from communicating with Mr Jones and Mrs Hayden and putting up any posters relating to the pair either literally or through inference was also prohibited.

She was will also have to pay £250 costs.

After the hearing Mr Jones, district councillor for Antingham, said that he was delighted with the outcome of the case.