The neighbours live on Eatenden Lane, a quiet road next to woodland in Robertsbridge, near Hastings, in the East Sussex countryside.
They began rowing over the boundary between their gardens and an access track beside it. But what was a row over a small strip of land descended into chaos, with allegations made on both sides of unneighbourly behaviour.
The case ended up before Judge Sarah Venn at Hastings County Court, who in September 2022 found against Mr and Mrs Coates on the row over the position of the boundary.
‘Juvenile behaviour’
But the matter did not even end there. Mr Coates was hauled back to court in October 2023 and accused of “juvenile behaviour” by his neighbours, in breach of the terms of an injunction made by Judge Venn to try to defuse the row.
He had damaged his neighbours’ property by throwing stones at a bedroom window and used abusive language, Judge Venn found.
The judge was shown video which she said showed Mr Coates approaching Mrs Turner, “visibly angry” and making “abusive comments and engaged in physically threatening behaviour”.
She also found that comments made by Mr Coates in court amounted to a “threat” to his neighbours or their property.
He was jailed for 252 days for contempt of court, reduced after 47 days behind bars to allow his immediate release at the Court of Appeal in December last year.
The sentence was reduced after the appeal judges overturned the finding by Judge Venn that Mr Coates’ in-court comments were a threat.
Earlier this month, the case went back to court as Mr Greenwood and Mrs Turner applied for an order for sale of the Coates’ house so that the bills can be paid.
“We are not going to stop fighting this matter, even if it’s eight or 10 years down the line,” Mr Coates told the judge. “We are representing ourselves because we haven’t got any money. The only asset we have is the property.”
Ruling that the house – thought by Mr Greenwood and Mrs Turner to be worth about £420,000 – should be sold, the judge said there was “no reasonable prospect” of the debt being repaid otherwise.
