Man threw bucket of dog dirt over mother's neighbour

A man was so angry when his mother’s neighbour threw dog dirt into her garden that he retaliated – throwing a bucketfull over him and punching him in the face, a court heard. Anthony Paul Mott admitted “plastering” the man with dog dirt, claiming it was the culmination of a long-running dispute caused by the neighbour allowing his dogs to do their business on his mother’s land.

David Madison, prosecuting, said the victim had been walking his Alsatians in High Lands, near Cockfield, County Durham, when he stood in some dog dirt on May 12. “He stopped to clean his footwear on the grass and threw the remaining faeces into a field belonging to members of Mr Mott’s family,” he said. “One of the defendant’s relatives started shouting at him but he carried on with his walk and went to sit on a bench.



Mr Mott then arrived, shouted further abuse and started throwing faeces and mud at him. He then climbed over the wall and hit the victim in the face.” The court heard how the victim had tried to restrain the self-employed 43-year-old, using his walking stick. Mott, who represented himself in Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court, said that his mother had been forced to build a wall to stop the man’s dogs relieving themselves in her garden.

“We have been on to the council about it,” he said. “That morning he actually flung the dog faeces into the garden. My mum had been saving all this dog faeces up in a bucket – so I plastered him with it.” However, he denied hitting the man. Mott, of Ramshaw Lane, Ramshaw, pleaded guilty to common assault. He was fined £300 and was ordered to pay £50 compensation, £85 costs and a £15 victim’s surcharge.