CRIME OF PASSION
A FURIOUS OAP attacked his neighbour outside a war memorial after he was told to stop visiting the victim's wife.
Shaun Miller, 38, was punched and kicked by his neighbour Richard 'Mike' Lanigan, 74, in Easington, North Yorkshire.
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Teesside Magistrates Court this week heard the fight kicked off after Lanigan was told to stop popping in to see Mr Millers wife, Lisa.
Prosecutors demanded a restraining order for Lanigan to keep away from the Miller family.
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Lisa says she and her husband have gone through "two years of hell" since their relationship turned sour, the reported.
She told the court that when the couple moved moved to the area in 2017, they believed the "quiet, friendly and peaceful" village was the perfect place to raise their three kids.
She said: "But two years later over the garden fence I saw this man who was working in an area behind the war memorial.
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"He approached and said his name was Mike and began talking.
"From that day two years ago he was then around all the time wanting to chat."
She says tension began to boil when she asked him to ease up on visiting their home after growing "uncomfortable" over his persistent presence around their home.
Lisa said: "When the pandemic struck I used that as a reason to ask him to stop coming and when I did that his face just fell.
"That's when things got strange. I'd planted some bushes on our property which got ripped out. I found them by the war memorial."
Within days she got a letter telling her to remove the bushes which was written on a Redcar and Cleveland Council letterhead - which Richard's wife Mary Lanigan is the leader of.
She said: "The fact it was hand delivered seemed strange so I called the council and they appeared to know nothing about it."
'WENT CRAZY'
On the day of the assault, the couple say they wanted to show him and his wife an email about the boundary row before Lanigan "went crazy".
She said: "It was shocking and unforgivable to use such violence, I hope we never have any dealings with him again.
"I have had to watch as my husband has been in pain as a result of the assault. This resulted in the doctor diagnosing whiplash and prescribing him strong medication.
"My daughter, who is six, was present with her father when he was assaulted; she has experienced nightmares, a panic attack and sleepless nights as a result of being in fear of Mike Lanigan."
At his home Mike Lanigan said: "I don't want to comment because anything I say reflects badly on Mary as the leader of the council and I don't want that.
"What has hurt me most is the restraining order which means I can't go to continue all the hard work I have done on the war memorial because it takes me too close to the Millers' home.
"That hurt me more than the fine the court imposed."
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He was given a restraining order to keep away from the Miller family, which also covers the site of the war memorial.
Lanigan was ordered to pay £1,100, £500 compensation for the assault and £300 for criminal damage. He must also pay costs and surcharges of £410.
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