Bin row woman drove family out of their home
ASOLDIER and his wife have been hounded out of their home by a woman who claims they dumped their rubbish in her wheelie bin.
Loretta Acton, 57, said she got fed up with the couple putting their children’s dirty nappies and other household refuse in her bin.
Following two years of simmering tensions, the former secretary confronted the 34-year-old mum on her doorstep, threatening to kill her.
She later shouted abuse at her soldier husband as he took the couple’s children to school, yelling: “My mum has just died - I hope you will die next.”
Police were later called after Acton was spotted slashing the tyres on the family’s car.
The victims say a ‘barrage of abuse’ forced them out of their £133,000 stone mews cottage in Littleborough.
In a statement the woman, who works for a property company, said: “The whole saga has meant I’ve had to move out as I’m concerned what she will do next.
“It’s having an effect on my children as they pick up on the anxiety I have.”
Details of their ordeal emerged at Manchester magistrates court, where Acton admitted two charges of harassment and one charge of criminal damage.
She was fined £440 and ordered to pay £120 compensation for the damage to the tyres and must pay £129 in costs and surcharges.
The charges related to incidents which occurred between September 27 and October 5, two years after Acton moved into a terraced mews property next door to the couple.
The court was told Acton has previous convictions for drink driving in 2013 and having no insurance in 2016.
But her lawyer, Stephen Connor, said in mitigation: “I’ve spent a long time with her and she does say that there’s been two sides as to what was going on and the male complainant particularly in the past has been aggressive and abusive towards her.
“The female has never been aggressive to her and there’s a genuine level of remorse. Some of the terms used such as ‘slob’ and ‘vile’ are not pleasant and she expresses appropriate remorse. Her mum did pass away on October 3, in the weeks leading up to that she was very, very poorly and she was watching her mum die. The stress added to her behaviour or contributed.“
But passing sentence District Judge Khalid Qureshi told Acton: “The first offence is slightly less serious than the other because it was not involving children. I’m not minded to make a restraining order - I don’t think it’s necessary.”
After the case Acton said she was relieved at her sentence.
Her neighbours were unavailable for comment.
“My mum has just died – I hope you will die next”