Stalking trial: Neighbour denies provoking accused

Police were called following the incidents in Bassingham village

A witness in the trial of two women accused of stalking has denied "provoking" their behaviour.

Linda Lu, 35, and her mother Susan Chen, 61, of Linga Lane in Bassingham, Lincolnshire, are accused of harassing their next-door neighbours James Smith, his wife and their two children between 15 July and 29 September last year.

Mr Smith, who has lived in the village for 12 years, answered questions under cross-examination at Lincoln Crown Court.

Ms Lu and Ms Chen deny stalking charges involving harm and distress.

The defendants are representing themselves, with cross-examination questions being asked by barrister Eugene Hickey, on behalf of Ms Chen, and Peter Woodall, on behalf of Ms Lu.

The court heard that the first interaction between the Smiths and the defendants involved a dispute over a hedge on 18 July 2023.

Mr Smith had gone out to trim the hedge, which was in-between his property and that of his neighbours.

He told the court that he was met by Ms Chen, who opposed him cutting the hedge, and Ms Lu, who was "threatening him with legal action from an upstairs window".

Footage, from the phone of Mr Smith's wife, showed Ms Chen and Ms Lu vocally opposing Mr Smith cutting the hedge and filming him, with Mr Smith continuing to cut his side of the hedge.

Mr Hickey, addressing Mr Smith on behalf of Ms Chen, questioned why he did not "back off" from cutting the hedge at the time, and described his actions as "antagonising" as he was "insistent on cutting the hedge".

In response, Mr Smith said he was “not intentionally” being “antagonising” and did not “back off” because he was “trying to get the job finished because we were going away”.

Linda Lu and Susan Chen deny stalking neighbours in the village

Following the incident, Mr Smith described the actions of Ms Chen and Ms Lu as escalating from "noises to verbal abuse and then audio playing 24 hours a day".

Mr Smith reported the incidents to the police, with audio and interactions picked up on recording devices and CCTV facing his property.

Mr Woodall, on behalf of Ms Lu, referred to a video clip from 7 September 2023, which showed Mr Smith sitting in his garden reading a book and eating a yoghurt, with the sound of verbal abuse coming from next door.

Mr Woodall asked if Mr Smith had been "deliberately sitting there like that to bait [the defendants] next door".

In response, Mr Smith said he was sitting outside "for 10 minutes to enjoy the sun".

'Respectable family'

Further footage from 29 September was referred to. It showed Mr Smith talking to a neighbour at the front of his driveway while Ms Chen and Ms Lu crossed the street filming him.

Mr Smith also began to film the defendants while maintaining a conversation with the neighbour.

Mr Woodall questioned Mr Smith by asking if his "conduct in the situation might have provoked them", with Mr Smith replying with a no.

The court also heard Mr Woodall describe Mr Smith and his family as a "well-established, perfectly respectable family unit".

He said the defendants were "new to the area" and were "more isolated than Mr Smith in the village".

The trial, which is expected to conclude this week, continues.

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