Pig caused a stink in feud between neighbours

The smell from a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig was so bad that couple were no longer able to enjoy their garden, a court case involving a feud between neighbours was told yesterday.

The hearing at Newcastle upon Tyne County Court was told that the arrival of the 200lb pig was one of the most significant developments in the six- year feud between Paul Telford and Frank and Mary Bray.

Mr Telford, 35, moved into his semi-detached bungalow next to the Brays in June 1990 and soon began complaining about their dog barking. He retaliated by making a tape-recording of the dog and playing it back at full volume through the walls of the properties in Westlands, Tynemouth.

But the feud turned even uglier when Mr Telford bought the pig, called Flossie, and kept her in a back garden outhouse.

Ronald Mitchell, representing the Brays, said that after the pig was bought in 1991, Mr Telford's garden was allowed to become overgrown. "The plaintiffs complained no proper arrangement had been made for the disposal of excrement and urine from the pig. Experts say the pig will produce between 3kg and 4kg of slurry a day.

"Flossie left slurry all over the garden and this caused smells and attracted flies, preventing Mr and Mrs Bray from enjoying their back garden as they should have been able to in a residential street such as this."

He said relations deteriorated a few months after Mr Telford moved in and the allegations of nuisance started.

"From October 1990 to the summer of 1991 the defendant played a tape of the Brays' dog barking and he played it loudly and repeatedly to annoy the neighbours through the wall of the house."

It was also claimed the computer firm boss revved car engines, slammed doors and tinkered with his jet-ski at all hours of the day and night. And that ornaments fell from shelves in the Brays' home due to vibrations caused when he started up a compressor.

Mr Bray said the tape-recordings of barking "would go on for about 20 to 25 minutes and ... once it went from 2pm to 7pm, then came on again at 8.15pm until 2am the next day".

Mr Bray, who has a history of heart problems and has had a heart attack since launching his legal case, claimed Mr Telford was waging a vendetta against him and had scuppered his chances of selling his home.

Phillip Walling, for Mr Telford, said a doctor's report described Mr Bray as having "quite an obsessive personality".

Mr Bray replied: "I like things to be more correct than the average person. I wouldn't say I am obsessive. It comes from the profession I follow, being an inspector in engineering. Everything has to be minutely correct. I would say Mr Telford has caused 75 per cent of my health problem."

Mr Bray was said to have kept a diary detailing every visitor to Mr Telford's house, and gave them nicknames like "The Bitch" and "Pretty Boy". A description of a brown-haired caller, which was read out in court, turned out to be Mr Telford's barrister, Mr Walling.

The hearing, in which the Brays are seeking damages and an injunction to stop Mr Telford being a nuisance, is continuing.