A ‘neighbour from hell’ who terrorised elderly residents in a peaceful cul-de-sac while wearing a Spiderman mask and taunted them ‘I’ll still be here when you’re all dead’ has been jailed.
Liam Bain, 35, shouted obscenities, peered through windows and even used a hosepipe to drench a woman in her 70s, a court heard.
The troublemaker was often seen flexing his muscles in his front window and shadow boxing topless in the street in the quiet Lancashire town of Longton, it was told.
Bain even harassed pensioners using their Ring doorbells when he knew they were out of their homes – knowing they would receive a phone alert.
One man was so terrified he cowered behind a hedge when Bain drove his van alongside him in a threatening manner while he was out on his bicycle.
Liam Bain (pictured), 35, shouted obscenities, peered through windows and even used a hosepipe to drench a woman in her 70s, a court heard
Bain (pictured) even harassed pensioners using their Ring doorbells when he knew they were out of their homes – knowing they would receive a phone alert
Another couple said they moved from their large upstairs bedroom to a small spare room at the back of their house to avoid Bain’s night-time harassment, which included playing loud music and shining lasers.
Neighbours said Bain recruited his partner and children to join in with his reign of terror, encouraging the youngsters to kick balls into their gardens, and called one man a ‘nonce’ and a ‘pervert’.
Now he is starting an 18-week prison sentence after a judge branded him ‘the neighbour from hell’ and said he had caused ‘untold misery’ to neighbours.
He has also been banned from entering the street, where his partner lives, or contacting any of his five victims, for five years.
Some residents said they had considered selling the homes they had planned to spend their golden years in but felt unable to, due to the problems Bain was causing in the streets of Higher Furlong and Tranmoor.
One woman said her grandson would no longer visit her at the house and she could only see him at his home or at family gatherings.
‘We are living with the knowledge that every hour of every day we are victims of violence, because violence is not just physical,’ said one victim, in her 60s.
‘This leaves scars on our hearts and souls.’
Bain shouted obscenities, peered through windows and wore Spiderman masks and balaclavas to intimidate pensioners, the court heard.
He used a hosepipe to drench a woman in her 70s, and blocked driveways and entrances to the street with his van.
When workmen came to carry out repairs, Bain challenged them to fight him or arm wrestle him for £50.
He loitered outside his neighbours’ homes, played loud music from his van and shone a laser at houses and cars.
Bain intimidated relatives of residents to the point they had to pre-warn visitors about his behaviour.
After he pleaded guilty to five counts of harassment, Recorder Kevin Slack told him: ‘There is, in my judgement, no other way to describe you than behaving as the neighbour from hell.
Now he is starting an 18-week prison sentence after a judge branded him ‘the neighbour from hell’ and said he had caused ‘untold misery’ to neighbours
‘You have caused the residents of these two streets untold misery without there being any cause for you to behave the way you have.
‘Some of that may have been childish behaviour but that does not do justice to the scale of misery your conduct has caused.
‘It is a common feature that they say they were afraid of leaving their homes to go and visit their neighbours, for fear of what you may do to them.
‘You taunted them, saying there was nothing anyone could do about your conduct.
‘You told one victim you would still be there when they were all dead.
‘There is something the court can do and that is to make a restraining order.’
Bain waved at his partner, who was sitting in the public gallery, as he was led away to the cells.