Neighbours have last laugh in clown row

To the hedge disputes, the parking rows and the Sunday afternoon bonfires, a new case has emerged in Britain's rich history of neighbourhood disputes: the cackling clown.

In a bizarre escalation of a row that began with a disputed fence, Keith Quartermain dangled the talking toy from his window every time his neighbours stepped out of their home.

To heighten the debilitating impact of the hysterical chuckling, Quartermain, 58, a retired van driver, rigged the toyto a set of stereo speakers.

During the bitter row that spanned 15 years, he also put up 14ft-signs in his garden and notices in his car describing neighbours as the "dwarf and the old dog".

Quartermain was this week convicted of two harassment charges but yesterday remained unrepentant, claiming his neighbours in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, "started it" by putting a fence up blocking his right of way 11 years ago. "They say that I was laughing at them but it's not true. I did have a laughing bag that I bought for my puppy.

"I used to hide it in the bathroom for him. It's not my fault if the window was open and they heard it laughing."

Other neighbours were targeted during his campaign. David Quick and Catherine Fillier received abusive letters from Quartermain.

Mrs Fillier said: "He appears to be unable to forget a dispute over a rear fence being moved."

Quartermain received a three-month suspended sentence at Oxford magistrates' court on Monday and a five-year restraining order. He was also ordered to pay compensation and told he could not make any noise outside his home between 10pm and 7am.

Police confiscated the toy and abusive signs from his home. The cackling clown was ordered to be destroyed.