Raging blunder
Fuming OAP tries to mow down his neighbour... but runs over his wife instead
A RAGING pensioner tried to mow down a neighbour as part of a 27-year feud but hit his wife by mistake – then stomped off, leaving her in agony on the drive.
Michael Goodenough’s wife Lynda was left with a fractured spine and shoulder after he reversed his Mercedes into her.
He had been involved in a bitter dispute with neighbour Michelle Palmer since she built a wall between their gardens in 1994.
Things came to a dramatic head when Goodenough, 73, blocked a furniture delivery van in an entryway between their houses.
He snapped when Mrs Palmer came out to take a photo of him in his white Mercedes.
He slammed the car into reverse and drove at his neighbour, but failed to see his own wife in his blind spot.
Warwick crown court heard Goodenough stormed into his house in Coventry after the accident in July 2019.
The neighbours came to the aid of Lynda, 72, as she lay screaming in agony on the drive. In hospital scans revealed spine and shoulder fractures.
Goodenough, a father of three, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed on Friday for 15 months.
Judge Peter Cooke described the incident as a “sorry episode”. He told Goodenough: “What I have seen is a display of petty, smallminded petulance by all concerned.
“You tried to reverse your car into the lady next-door and hurt her, and you ended up running over your own wife. I see no signs of remorse, and on the day itself you stormed off into the house, leaving your wife to be tended by the neighbours you hate so much.”
In a statement, Mrs Palmer said: “For many years not just my family but other families in the area have had to suffer the anti-social behaviour of Mr Goodenough.”
What I’ve seen is a display of petulance.. I see no sign of remorse
JUDGE PETER COOKE AS HE JAILED GOODENOUGH