Neighbour whose surveillance campaign drove couple out of home must pay £1,500 in damages
A nightmare neighbour who forced a businessman and his wife out of their home following a vindictive smear campaign has been ordered to pay them £1,500 in damages - after he was convicted of stalking[1].
Matthew Kenyon, 36, was nicknamed ''Big Brother[2]'' after he delved into the work and private lives of Carey and Rachel Styles who lived next door. He set up CCTV cameras to spy on them after they fell out over his BMW being damaged in a weather-related accident.
Whilst living side-by-side in the ironically named Pleasant Street in Widnes, Cheshire, Kenyon became incredibly ''fixated'' with the Styles. He wrote a series of poison pen emails, made a string of trumped up complaints against the couple on an almost daily basis and even researched the background of their visitors in a bid to get them to leave their £200,000 rented property.
During his ten-month campaign, Kenyon sent letters to a Roman Catholic primary school where Mrs Styles was a teaching assistant. He falsely claimed she and her husband mixed with ''prolific cocaine users." Meanwhile, Mr Styles - who runs a construction firm - was also reported to his local council and to police after Kenyon discovered he was unwittingly employing a convicted rapist as one of his labourers.
My sister and I got welded 'forever' bracelets using H Samuel's new permanent jewellery service[3]
Rachel Styles was undergoing cancer treatment during the ordeal (
Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
Businessman Carey Styles (
Carey Styles/ Cavendish Press (Manchester) Ltd)
In one of a series of emails to the headmistress at Mrs Styles' school, Kenyon said of her friendship with another couple: ''It revolves around snorting cocaine and hosting parties all the hours. As Mrs Rachel Styles is employed as a teaching assistant, she's responsible for children in her care. How responsible can she be for those children if she is off her head on drink and drugs? She even went out until 4am on the day after the Queen had passed away.''
Kenyon also claimed Mr Styles had been convicted of criminal damage, driving at a pedestrian, intimidation and other ''behaviours'' which he said were ''encouraged by his wife.'' One ranting email which ran to eight A4 pages and which copied in police, the local council and Ofsted read: “I am a bulldog with a wasp in my mouth and I never once back down.
"I know this will go back to them, but I do not care. Mr Carey Styles and Mrs Rachel Styles both need to be drug tested. I will say until I am blue in the face. I do not want a convicted rapist visiting next door neither do residents. This scum bag has overstayed his welcome in Widnes. They need to pack their bags. I suggest that the police get in touch with me with regards the police complaint as I will be contacting them one last time today. Enough is enough.''
Mrs Styles was made the subject of two official safeguarding investigations following the trumped up allegations against her and kept her job after officials found no evidence of wrongdoing. Her husband laid off the workman convicted of rape when told about his background - but he was still forced to pull out of a £3,500 renovation project offered to him by the school. The couple eventually moved out of their property in October last year.
When quizzed by police Kenyon was found to have spreadsheets documenting his neighbours’ activity and he further claimed to have seen the Styles buy drugs from a barman. It emerged he had even put a letter through the Styles' door saying he had reported them to the DVLA as the MOT of one of their vehicles was out of date. The message added: “It is not legal to be driven on the highway. You are not above the law.''
At Warrington magistrates, Kenyon was also sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work - the maximum JPs can impose after he was convicted of stalking following a trial. He was also banned from contacting the the victims for five years under the terms of a restraining order. He denied wrongdoing.
The court heard Mr and Mrs Styles moved into their property in 2017 but they fell out with Kenyon when a gust of wind blew their van door against the bodywork of Kenyon's BMW. They began feuding about the cost of repairs and Mr Styles was reported to police after he was repeatedly caught on Kenyon's CCTV hurling abuse and on one occasion spraying the BMW with bleach.
In 2022, Mr Styles was convicted of harassment, fined £160 and ordered to abide by a six month ''acceptable behaviour contract'' drawn up Halton Housing which rents out the property. But Kenyon - who lives with his same-sex partner - sent additional complaints about Mr and Mrs Styles to various agencies in a spiteful attempt to have them moved on.
In a statement Mrs Styles said: ''I was undergoing cancer treatment and this only added to the stress and anxiety I've suffered. I have been medicated for depression and I have had counselling to try to manage this due to how low I felt when he campaigned against me.
“I experienced low self-esteem and at one stage I told my counsellor it would be better if I was not here anymore. I have a very supportive husband but this put a huge strain on our relationship. Along with being paranoid I have been unable to sleep at night due to the fear that there will be further issues and Matthew is still watching the address.
''At work I am also paranoid that my colleagues are talking about me and I panic when the manager wants to speak to me. Even thought we have now moved I still find myself sometimes believing that I am in my old address and the issues that this will bring. I feel I'm constantly looking over my shoulder when I am shopping and I am constantly looking out of my window. Before I go to bed I find I have to check outside to make sure Matthew s not standing outside my house watching me."
She added: "I do not like what I have become. I find myself sometimes isolating from friends, not seeing them for support. I feel vulnerable and have lost my confidence. ''
Mr Styles said in his victim statement: “I have been suffering from anxiety and depression as a result of this constant surveillance and I am constantly worrying about the effects it's had on my partner. She was recovering from cancer surgery and the added stress on her was having a detrimental effect and I worried about her.
"I had a contract at the school but following the false accusations the school stated that I could not work there. I felt constantly watched by CCTV. It caused me mental anguish resulting in us asking for a house move. I did not want to move but we had no other option in order to continue with our lives and not have to worry about being constantly observed by our neighbours.''
In his evidence, Kenyon denied deliberately pointing his CCTV cameras at the Styles' property but said he had been advised by the council and police to compile a log of incidents following Mr Styles' harassment conviction.
His lawyer, Vic Wozny, said: ''Since the Styles moved, there has not been a peep about anything being done wrong by my client. There has never been any complaints about other neighbours or complaints from them about him. The court can be satisfied that this man would cause no trouble to anybody else in the future.''
However, sentencing JP Christine Pugh told Kenyon: “You cannot contact them by any means whatsoever. If you see them accidentally, cross the road. If you breach this you will find yourself back before the court.”
References
- ^ stalking (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Big Brother (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ My sister and I got welded 'forever' bracelets using H Samuel's new permanent jewellery service (www.mirror.co.uk)