Arsenal keeper’s ‘chainsaw attack over garage row’
FORMER Arsenal player Jens Lehmann is being investigated by police after being accused of attacking his neighbour’s garage with a chainsaw.
Architect Walter Winkelmann claims the ex-goalkeeper, 52, snuck onto the property in Berg, Germany, on Monday night and damaged the new roof of the building.
Lehmann, who won 61 German caps, reportedly believed he had evaded detection by disabling the house’s CCTV.
His neighbour alleges he then caused thousands of pounds of criminal damage in a row over whether renovation work impeded his view over Lake Starnberg, an area popular with the wealthy.
Mr Winkelmann’s family refused to take questions when the Mail visited their property in the leafy village, near Munich.
Bild reported CCTV images showed Lehmann attacking Mr Winkelmann’s home.
The Winkelmann family then called the police, who turned up to question Lehmann, according to the German tabloid.
But the extent of the damage in the garage was disputed. Last night at the luxury lakeside villa he bought for £4.2million in 2007, Lehmann said: ‘I am afraid I cannot comment for legal reasons.’
Sources close to the goalkeeper-turned-pundit said he believes the renovation is a breach of local planning laws because it encroaches on his land. The Mail understands he does not deny going on to Mr Winkelmann’s property, but friends said he disputes the police’s version of events and could even sue them.
Authorities in Starnberg and investigators in nearby Ingolstadt refused to comment when contacted by the Mail.
But officers confirmed a 52-year-old man is under investigation over the damage to the house. They said they were also investigating two separate incidents that had taken place in the last two years.