A neighbourhood watch co-ordinator was cautioned for criminal damage after she was caught on CCTV vandalising cars – which belonged to her neighbours.
Police officer’s widow Jennifer Bibby, 63, is an upstanding churchgoer and well-respected as a neighbourhood watch leader in a tight-knit community.
But she has been arrested and cautioned for criminal damage after being caught on CCTV attacking the cars of neighbours Clare Leverton and Suzanne Hoole.
Clare had suffered a number of vandalism attacks over recent years and believed hooded yobs were responsible for the latest damage, which occurred on Bonfire Night.
But Clare was stunned when the CCTV system she installed to catch the culprits spotted Jennifer covering the vehicles with flour and eggs.
Single mother-of-two Clare, who runs Attitudes Hair and Beauty in Hoddesdon, Herts., admitted she was ”shocked” when she saw Jennifer on the footage.
Clare, 44, said: ”The vandalism had been going on for years at my house so we decided to put up some CCTV cameras as a last resort.
”It is very upsetting that this happens to me. It’s awful and I just want this to stop. This incident was totally unprovoked.
”We were all in shock when we saw the CCTV footage because no one expected Jennifer to be responsible.”
Clare’s neighbour Diana Reed, who is a full-time carer to her disabled son, has also suffered vandalism over the last few years.
Mother-of-two Diana, 40, said: ”It’s outrageous and disgusting that a woman who is a church-goer and the widow of a police officer should do something like this.
”It’s quite a scandal in the local area because of her role in the community as a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator.
”She should be stopping behaviour like this happening rather than committing anti-social crimes herself.
”She denied everything to the police until they said ‘you are on CCTV’ and then she admitted it.
”When we checked the CCTV we were expecting the culprit to be some hooded yob so we were surprised when we saw her face.”
Clare and Diana have suffered years of problems with vandalism including rubbish thrown onto their driveways and even a tin of dog food thrown through a window.
In June this year they decided enough was enough and working with other neighbours raised £1,000 to buy four motion activated CCTV cameras.
On the evening of November 5 this year Clare found her car covered with dents and discovered a mixture of eggs and flour spread across the bonnet.
Suzanne Hoole, who also lives on the street, was stunned to find her car had also been covered in eggs and flour.
Clare contacted police after she and Diana checked the CCTV and saw Jennifer furtively committing criminal damage before walking back to her home.
Jennifer was arrested and cautioned on suspicion of criminal damage before she posted a note of apology through Suzanne’s door.
It read: ”I am just writing to apologise about your car. It will come off with hot water and washing up liquid. Pass on my apologies to Clare.”
Grandmother-of-two Jennifer, whose policeman husband died six years ago, apologised for the damage but claims she is being ”persecuted” and ”provoked”.
She said: ”I admit I did it. It was a mistake. I admitted it to the police and put my hands up said ‘I’m sorry’.
”The flour was unprovoked, but it was the build up of a number of years of provocation. All I can say is someone round here has got a bad attitude.
”Now I’m being persecuted. I can’t think of anything terrible I have done apart from the flour.”
Jennifer confirmed that she has now chosen to step down from her role as the neighbourhood watch co-ordinator.
A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Police confirmed the incident but refused to comment further.
She said: ”We can confirm that a 63-year-old woman has been arrested and cautioned on suspicion of criminal damage.
”The caution relates to an incident that happened in Nursery Road, Hoddesdon, on November 5 this year.”
