THIS is the dramatic moment a woman screams at her neighbour and torches his Land Rover in a bitter row over badgers.
Graham Lee, 56, saw his Freelander engulfed in flames after his neighbour tried to get rid of badgers living on his driveway.
SolentSusan Lupton was filmed shouting at her neighbour “your badgers kill cats”[/caption]
SolentThe 63-year-old was caught appearing to film Mr Lee’s house[/caption]
A court heard how Susan became “irrationally obsessed”Solent
Susan Lupton, 63, dubbed her neighbour the “evil badger man” and believed the animals – which he fed – were responsible for killing a local cat.
In creepy CCTV footage before the inferno, sparked in the coastal village of Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight, Lupton can be seen spying on Mr Lee’s property.
She walks down stairs outside her house, wearing an apron and smoking a cigarette.
With her phone in hand, Lupton appears to film Mr Lees’ house.
After pacing back and forth, she stands eerily still and stares at the home with a look of fury.
More videos taken at the scene of the blaze, on June 20 last year, show Lupton scream” your badgers kill cats” and her neighbour.
The arson caused £18,500 worth of damages, with Lee’s Freelander left as a burnt out shell.
Another property was also damaged as the fire spread to a neighbouring house.
When police questioned Lupton, who has bipolar disorder, having a manic episode, she confessed: “I did it, I’m responsible”.
She said she’d started the fire to get rid of the badgers because she thought they’d killed her neighbour’s cat.
Isle of Wight Court heard Lupton had ignited a plastic container filled with white spirit before sliding it under the car.
Lupton, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 1980, claimed she had learnt how to start the fire from a firefighter friend.
Prosecuting, Joanna Staples, told how the vehicle was completely gutted and a window, guttering, cooker extractor and a tree were all damaged beyond repair on a neighbouring property.
Lee, a wildlife volunteer, would leave food out for the badgers on his driveway.
SolentGraham Lee, 56, saw his Freelander engulfed in flames[/caption]
SolentHe rescued and fed badgers on his driveway[/caption]
SolentHis “pride and joy” was completely destroyed[/caption]
But the animals haven’t returned to the property since the fire, he said.
In a victim impact statement, Lee said that Lupton was “sick, twisted and a manipulative individual”.
He added how she had left him constantly checking his security cameras out of fear she may appear on his driveway with some matches.
Lee went on to add that his Land Rover was his “pride and joy” and said Lupton’s actions had ruined his life.
He told the court Lupton posted videos online of her throwing bricks at badgers and lacing bowls of food with glass.
Neighbour Kavita Hayton, whose home was damaged by the incident, said the attack had left her “genuinely frightened” and in “a state of fear for many months”.
Defending, Jonathan Underhill, told the court his client had a single conviction for criminal damage on her record and that she had bipolar disorder.
He asked the judge to give Lupton a suspended sentence to help with her rehabilitation.
Judge James Newton-Price said the victims had suffered a “terrifying experience” and Lupton had developed a “fixation” and had become “irrationally obsessed”.
The judge added during sentencing: “You say you are horrified for what you’ve done.
“I believe you have a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and that imprisonment would reverse your progress.”
Lupton was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and compensation of £7,835.
She was handed two years’ imprisonment, suspended for two years and was given a restraining order to stay away from Lee.
In addition, Lupton has been banned from the village of Freshwater indefinitely.
SolentLupton has been banned from the village of Freshwater indefinitely[/caption]
SolentThe car was completely gutted[/caption]
Lupton was ordered to pay costs of £1,000 and compensation of £7,835Solent Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
