A furious motorist smashed up his neighbour’s car with a GUITAR in a Basil Fawlty-style attack over a parking space, a court heard.
Fuming Benjamin Gray, 44, released years of bottled-up frustration on his neighbour’s Nissan Pajero – launching at it with the stringed instrument, it is claimed.
He allegedly used the guitar to smash the vehicle’s headlights, side window and rear windscreen in an assault like John Cleese’s raging hotel owner in Faulty Towers.
Gray is then accused of hurling racist threats at his black neighbour – telling her: ”Do you want a Jihad war?”.
He denies two counts of criminal damage, causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress, and resisting a police constable.
Bristol Magistrates Court heard how years of animosity between Gray and neighbour Fiona Ellis came to head in the early hours of December 11 last year.
Giving evidence. Mrs Ellis said she parked her car wherever she could – sometimes in front of Gray’s gate and sometimes illegally on the pavement.
On the night in question, she said Gray came out of his house in Eastville, Bristol, with a wooden guitar and used it to smash her car’s headlights, side windows and rear windscreen, the jury was told.
The court heard the 4×4 was written off, Mrs Ellis lost her no claims insurance bonus and had to pay £400 excess.
She told the court that while Gray was smashing her car, she stayed at home and phoned the police.
She said: ”He was really violent. He’s been violent before, but not like that.”
Gray, representing himself in court, said CCTV showed it was actually parked on the kerb, illegally, blocking access to his house.
One of the police officers called to the incident, PC Emma Hedges, said she heard Gray shout extreme racist threats as he was being escorted away from the scene.
PC Hedges said Gray used offensive terms for black people, swore and said: ”I’ll shoot you all, I’ll shoot you. Do you want a Jihad war?”
The case continues.
