Nightmare neighbour terrorised my disabled uncle in row over doorbell but he only had to pay £100 – it's an insult

A NIGHTMARE neighbour who terrorised a disabled man and his carers in a row over a doorbell camera has been slapped with a £100 fine.

Stephen Groves, 56, was found guilty of launching a campaign of harassment against vulnerable Stephen Persoud, 61, in Birmingham.



Groves claimed the smart security gadget – which was installed to keep tabs on Mr Persouds' welfare – overlooked his home.

Despite his two-month long vendetta – which left Mr Persouds' niece Victoria Riscinskis and two carers terrified – the raging neighbour was only ordered to pay back £100 to each victim.

Speaking after his sentencing, Victoria blasted the punishment as an "insult" and called on Birmingham City Council to evict Groves.

Footage obtained by The Sun shows Groves taking a hammer to the doorbell and removing the hinges to a shared gate – which topples on top of him.

Groves was hauled to Birmingham Magistrates’ Court after admitting three charges of harassment between July and September last year.

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There, he confessed to his tirade of abuse – which saw him jump out at carer Susan Bennett, leaving her terrified.

He also pulled faces through the fence at carer Dawn Hadley after locking the gate to stop her from leaving.

And he admitted harassing Mr Persoud's niece Veronica by damaging the doorbell and making rude gestures.

Other instances saw Groves – who was also slapped with an electronic tag and handed a restraining order – deface the camera with a marker pen and scratch the lens.

Veronica said: "I'm really disappointed. £100 compensation is an insult really.

"It won't compensate [us] for losing a carer and all the stress and sleepless night we've endured.

"I'm going to send the money to Ukraine, so maybe some good can come out of it."

Groves flipped after the Ring doorbell was fixed to a wall on an entrance to their two adjoining bungalows.

I'm really disappointed. £100 compensation is an insult really. I'm going to send the money to Ukraine, so maybe some good can come out of it."

He was previously handed a conditional discharge for criminal damage in August after snipping the camera’s wires, said prosecutor Siobhan Russell.

She told the court that, on one occasion, when a carer asked Groves to turn down loud music he "pressed his face against the fence and stared at her for 10 scenes and pulled faces".

Veronica installed the camera after that incident.

It was positioned on the adjacent bungalow in the hope of preventing further harassment from Groves.

Ms Russell said: "Ms Riscinskis had spoken to the council and the police before installing the doorbell and they assured her she was able to do so.

"The reason this doorbell was placed there was because of previous incidents with the defendant."

The court heard how Groves locked carer Ms Hadley and Mr Persoud, who has Parkinson’s, in the communal alleyway and refused to let them out.

Representing himself after sacking his court-appointed solicitor, Groves admitted he had been “pathetic”.

He told the court: "They put a camera right next to my door and they just can’t do that. Where are my rights?

"Pathetic things I've done because of that camera. I acted like an idiot because they are breaching my fundamental rights.

"How do I feel? Not very good."

Grove, who relies on £100-a-week benefits, insisted he was a "man of God".

District judge John Bristow hit Groves with a two-year restraining order, 12-week electronic curfew and 20 days of probation.

He was ordered to pay £100 compensation each to his three victims.

Judge Bristow told him: "If you breach the restraining order you will be committing a serious offence and could be punished with up to five years in prison."





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