Judge visits pitch in cricket dispute

THE COURT had already heard that David Lacey's house was 55 yards from the cricket pitch in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, but Judge Nigel Hague wanted to get a feel of the distance for himself. So yesterday he stepped out onto the pitch and played an imaginary hook shot towards the plaintiff's house, writes Charles Oulton.

It is hard to say whether the ball would have cleared the silver birches and carried into Mr Lacey's garden, but the judge, a cricketer in his youth, will have to decide whether such a hit would constitute a breach of privacy, and whether the cricket club should cease playing on the ground.

Mr Lacey and his wife Rosa- Marie are pursuing a civil action against the club at Slough County Court, to persuade it to erect protective nets while cricket is in progress, or stop playing.

In court yesterday another objector, John Hern, recalled sitting down in the middle of the wicket and refusing to move in protest at the way balls were landing on his house. On one occasion, while he was abroad, a ball smashed two windows and broke a china horse.

The hearing continues.