Asbestos ‘obsession’ results in six-year harassment campaign

A woman was harassed for six years after asbestos was found in a house she had sold.

Amanda Paterson was bombarded with correspondence alleging fraud by Kevin Rushford, whose mother had moved into the property in Oakley in 2008.

Rushford claimed Ms Paterson owed him money and even contacted her employer as part of his vendetta.

A non-harassment order has now been imposed on Rushford, 54, of Windyhill Avenue, Kincardine, after he appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

He was also placed on a community payback order with two years’ supervision and ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation.

Rushford was convicted, following a trial, of frightening or alarming conduct and repeatedly sending defamatory correspondence to Ms Paterson, her employer and family members, claiming she had defrauded him and was due him compensation.

The offence was conducted at James Hog Crescent, Oakley, between December 2010 and November 2016.

During his trial Rushford claimed a warning sign about asbestos was found almost immediately after his mother bought the house and it cost £25,000 to have the substance removed and the property restored.

Sheriff Craig McSherry said he was dismayed by a letter from Rushford’s mother, who took an identical position to her son. He said: “It’s a complete obsession with asbestos.

“There has never been any raising of civil proceedings over this matter. Instead, he embarked on a campaign of harassment against this lady.”