Former Chinese agent jailed after hedge row

The court was told the victims were subjected to a "persistent, calculated and appalling pattern of behaviour" by Lu (left) and Chen

A former Chinese intelligence officer and her solicitor daughter have each been jailed for five and a half years after "terrorising" their neighbours during an almost daily campaign of stalking.

Susan Chen, 61, and Linda Lu, 35, were convicted of causing serious alarm or distress to their neighbours, James and Lynn Smith, in the village of Bassingham, near Lincoln.

The couple, who have two children, were increasingly targeted by their new neighbours following a disagreement about a hedge in July 2023, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

The actions continued for more than two months following the initial dispute, and included alleged "periods of loud metallic banging" and the repeated playing of music.

Chen told jurors she had spent 14 years serving in the Chinese army, rising to the rank of major.

Steve Taylor, prosecuting, said a dispute followed on 18 July, when Mr Smith was trimming a front hedge outside his home.

Chen came outside to tell Mr Smith he "couldn't trim" the hedge as it belonged to her.

Further incidents followed, the court heard, including "a racket" coming from the home of Lu and Chen on 19 August, and "loud banging" on 23 August.

The Smiths went away in late August to "try and get some respite". However, when they returned, banging from next door commenced "within 15 minutes", the court was told.

Videos recorded by Mr Smith, which were played in court, showed Chen and Lu "shouting derogatory abuse", including the use of terms such as "retards".

In a victim impact statement, Mr Smith described how the family's 13-year stay "in a village they loved" was shattered by the arrival of Chen and Lou.

Mrs Smith said her life had changed dramatically due to the campaign of harassment from Chen and Lu.

She said she now suffered from insomnia and had also been diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety.

Passing sentence, Judge James House KC said the family were subjected to a "persistent, calculated and appalling pattern of behaviour".

"The verbal abuse was vile," Judge House said.

"In short, the defendants terrorised the Smith family," he added.

A view of the street where the harassment took place

The court heard Chen and Lu had spent around six months in custody during the criminal proceedings.

Representing themselves during their five-week trial, they had alleged that they were the ones being stalked and harassed.

However, a jury took just two hours to convict the two women of stalking the Smiths between 15 July and 29 September 2023.

Both defendants were also handed a restraining order, preventing them form entering Bassingham, having any contact with the Smith family, or a number of other people involved in the case.

The court heard Lu had no previous convictions, but Chen was previously convicted of assaulting an elderly couple while living in the village of Balderton, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, in 2020.

This involved Chen spitting and "setting about" the elderly couple with her walking pole after coming across them while taking her daily exercise.

At the conclusion of the case, PC Jordan Bathie-Drexler, from Lincolnshire Police, said: "Nobody should fear sitting in their own garden, walking their children to school, or worry about barrages of abuse on a regular basis, simply because their neighbours have developed an unhealthy obsession with them."

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