DORSET NEIGHBOUR FROM HELL FACING JAIL

7:00am Tuesday 6th January 2009

A BROADSTONE MAN who has made his neighbours’ lives a misery for decades may be facing time behind bars.

Jim Finney was described as the ‘neighbour from hell’ after allowing his Broadstone property to turn into a filthy junkyard, with piles of debris, rotting rubbish and even rats.

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Bournemouth magistrates’ court heard yesterday how Finney had attacked council planning officer Andy Dearing with an iron bar and soaked him with a bucket of urine as he tried to photograph the mess in August 2007.

The 71-year-old failed to show for his trial but in his absence he was found guilty of assaulting the officer and using threatening behaviour.

He was also found guilty of assaulting a police officer as he was questioned at Gravel Hill station and in issuing a warrant for his arrest, District Judge Pattinson warned jail was a definite option.

Judge Pattinson said the threat of violence in the metal bar attack was high and that Mr Dearing had been lucky to escape serious injury.

The bucket of urine acted as “additional degradation,” he added.

Mr Dearing visited the Clarendon Road property on August 6 2007 to take pictures after Finney had appealed against an untidy site notice issued on his squalid home.

In trying to take the photos over the fence of a neighbour’s house, the council officer was confronted by Finney going “berserk”.

“A huge iron bar came crashing down near my shoulder and I’ve no doubt it was intended to hit me,” Mr Dearing told the court.

He added a bucket of water was then slung over the fence, quickly followed by another that Mr Finney warned was his toilet bucket.

Finney was then summoned to Gravel Hill police station 10 days later and, after refusing to co-operate with questioning, he became involved in a struggle with officers in which he kicked a constable in the chest.

PC Tom Isaac said Finney had appeared to fake a heart attack and kicked out as officers tried to persuade him to get up.

In a police interview, Finney said Mr Dearing had been invading his privacy by taking photos, while he said he kicked the police officer as unreasonable force had been used against him.

On his arrest, Finney will be sentenced at Bournemouth magistrates.