Neighbour who used three leafblowers at once avoids jail

May 13, 2021

Pensioner, 67, who used three leafblowers at once, whistled Rolf Harris song and used chainsaw and angle grinder at 4am during a 20-year war on neighbours in leafy cul-de-sac is spared jail

Michael Hall, 67, was given a suspended sentence by Stockport magistrates
He was taken to court by ‘distressed’ father-of-two Timothy Royle, 54
Hall used power tools as early as 4am as he worked on his home and garden
Those living in the Handforth cul-de-sac have been plagued for two decades
Hall denied wrongdoing and claimed he only had two leaf blowers during trial

A noisy neighbour who used three leafblowers at once during a 20-year war on those living in other homes in his leafy cul-de-sac has avoided jail.

Michael Hall, 67, was given a suspended sentence by Stockport magistrates after he was taken to court by father-of-two Timothy Royle, 54.

Mr Royle blasted the decision as ‘a joke’ and added: ‘I have suffered a great deal of distress from his disgraceful behaviour.’

Hall’s catalogue of anti-social behaviour includes playing a radio loudly in his garden, whistling the tune to Rolf Harris’ Two Little Boys while outside his home and leaving hedge clippings on his neighbour’s driveway.

Those living in the cul-de-sac in Handforth, near Wilmslow in Cheshire, have dealt with Hall for two decades, with Mr Royle’s home’s previous owners selling at £60,000 below its value so they could leave the area.

Mr Royle bought his home, which holds an estimated value of £257,000, in 2016 for £197,500.

Michael Hall (pictured), 67, was given a suspended sentence by magistrates in Stockport after he was taken to court by father-of-two Timothy Royle, 54

Those living in the cul-de-sac in Handforth, Cheshire, have dealt with Hall’s behaviour for two decades. Pictured, Mr Royle and another disgruntled neighbour, Peter Dean (left)

Hall also erected a battery of CCTV surveillance cameras (pictured) above a wrought iron gate at his £250,000 property so he could illicitly film neighbours in the street outside

Retired panel beater Hall, who lives with his wife Pamela, 73, previously enraged his neighbours by routinely waking them as early as 4am by starting his noisy camper van or switching on his chainsaw and angle grinder.

He also erected a battery of CCTV surveillance cameras above a wrought iron gate at his £250,000 property so he could illicitly film neighbours in the street outside.

Mr Royle (pictured outside court) blasted the decision as ‘a joke’

This week at Stockport Magistrates’ Court Mr Royle, a company managing director, made an impassioned plea for Hall to be locked up after he was found guilty of harassment and breaching a restraining order.

But instead the pensioner, who Mr Royle has nicknamed ‘Michael the Moron’, was given 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work.

He will have to pay Mr Royle £300 compensation and another neighbour £100 and has been banned from contacting both under the terms of a new two-year restraining order. He was further ordered to pay £1,121 in costs.

After the case Mr Royle said: ‘It’s just a joke. He got away with it again. How many offences does he have to commit? How much trouble does he have to cause?

‘We have had twice the amount of witnesses this time – we have had statements from all the neighbours, we have so much incriminating evidence against him that’s overwhelming and yet he walks home.

‘He’ll just do exactly the same again and continue to play the game. I am absolutely frustrated and infuriated. We’ve not had a day of peace from him and to him it is just a game.’

Mr Royle said his neighbour would now been looking ‘for other things to do to intimidate and harass me’.

‘He’ll still whistle, every time I go out and he’s out, he’ll be singing away,’ Mr Royle added. ‘Nothing will change. It’s pathetic.’

Retired panel beater Hall, who lives with his wife Pamela (pictured together), 73, previously enraged his neighbours by routinely waking them as early as 4am by starting his noisy camper van or switching on his chainsaw or angle grinder

The latest case dealt with Hall’s antisocial behaviour between May and July last year, just 18 months after he was issued with a two-year restraining order banning him from using power tools and gardening equipment during antisocial hours. Pictured, Hall using a leaf blower

Mr Royle (pictured outside his home), who moved into the cul-de-sac in 2016, told the hearing: ‘I bought [my house] in 2016 with a discount of £60,000 and I was made aware of the problems with Michael Hall with him being my new neighbour’

Mr Royle told the hearing: ‘I bought [my house] in 2016 with a discount of £60,000 and I was made aware of the problems with Michael Hall with him being my new neighbour.’

He described the ensuing years as ‘relentless and soul destroying’ and admitted he did not think Hall would have a problem with him when he bought the house.

‘The last time I was in court was when he was convicted for breaching a restraining order, it came as a great deal of surprise to me when he did not get a custodial sentence,’ he said.

‘[Hall] was dancing and laughing in the courtroom in a tomfoolery manner because of his mild sentence and I even saw him doing this in the court room in front of the magistrates.

Mr Royle said Hall came back from a holiday in Australia and immediately ‘started to harass myself and another neighbour’. Hall was arrested but Mr Royle fears anything less than a custodial sentence will fail to stop his behaviour. Pictured, Hall during his arrest

‘I was surprised they did not lock him up for this alone. They said any further approach by him to us would see him go to prison and admittedly his behaviour went quiet for a while.’

‘[Hall] feels invincible. He still deliberately whistles and sings when I am at my house. I have suffered a great deal of distress from his disgraceful behaviour,’ he said.

At one point Hall called the police on Mr Royle and accused him of stealing because he cleared up hedge clippings left by Hall on his driveway.

‘I have had to send him a letter every year because hedge cuttings are left on my drive and gave him the option of me putting the cuttings in my bin myself, him getting a gardener to remove them or him removing them himself,’ Mr Royle said.

‘But he will accuse me of stealing and call the police. He called them when I swept them up but when the police were around at my house he got his leaf blower out so they could see for themselves what he was doing.’

At one point Hall (pictured) called the police on Mr Royle and accused him of stealing because he cleared up hedge clippings left by Hall on his driveway

Mr Royle said he would not be selling his home and had no plans to move away, but blasted his neighbour’s ‘pathetic and petty’ behaviour.

Hall denied wrongdoing and claimed he only had two leaf blowers. He said he played music through a YouTube channel and accused his neighbours of holding a grudge against him.

Defence lawyer Joe Rawlings told the hearing: ‘This defendant has never been dealt with by way of a suspended sentence, so in my submission, I would ask you to step back from immediate custody. Not all matters have been exhausted yet.

‘The level of offending is very low and there is no dealings with threats or violence. The defendant is the sole primary carer of a relative, who has mobility issues. Sending him to custody would have a significant impact on that party.’

He added: ‘This is a sag and neither parties have any intention of selling their house, both are going to be remaining at their address for the foreseeable future. But my client is not at serious risk of harm to the public.’

Sentencing JP Marilyn Gibson told Hall: ‘You have shown no remorse at all and there has been a blatant disregard for court orders. But we are satisfied you can be rehabilitated in the community.’

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