A neighbour took drastic action when his temper boiled over in a boundary dispute with the owners of a house next door to him, a court heard.

Martin Lewis jumped onto a JCB and demolished part of Simon and Elizabeth Meaton’s garden in Halstead, Sevenoaks, causing over £7,000 worth of damage.

Lewis, 60, mowed down the boundary fence of Bellever in Otford Lane, the patio tiled area, a fence around the vegetable patch, the washing line, trees, plants and flowers.

“He also demolished the chicken house that was cemented into the ground,” said prosecutor Andrew Espley. “He then bulldozed more trees and the compost heap.”

Maidstone Crown Court heard Mr and Mrs Meaton bought the house in 2008 from Lewis’ brother Dion.

There were no problems until Martin Lewis in August 2012 moved into Bramleys Yearling Coppice Farm next door, which belongs to his father Ernest.

Mr Espley said access to the properties was by two separate gates. After moving in Lewis dumped rubbish in front of the Meatons’ gate.

Mr Meaton, a professional gardener, trimmed his hedge, and Lewis told him: “You are going to have to pay for that. Those are my trees.”

Soon afterwards Lewis sent him a letter threatening legal action for cutting his own hedge.

In April 2013, Lewis hurled foul abuse at Mr Meaton accusing him of stealing his land and threatened: “I’m going to be here at 7am and smash your place up.”

Mrs Meaton was having a shower on August 12 that year when she heard their dogs barking and then saw Lewis at the bottom of the garden.

She called the police after she saw he had pushed over the garden furniture.

While she was on the phone, Lewis fetched his JCB and caused the extensive damage.

Mr Espley said Lewis was in October last year ordered by a civil court to pay £9,000 for the damage, including interest and costs.

Lewis, an HGV driver who has worked as a farm manager and was made bankrupt in 2012, admitted criminal damage.

Mark Sahu, defending, submitted a conditional discharge could be imposed, but Judge Philip St John-Stevens said: “You can think again.”

Lewis was sentenced to two months imprisonment suspended for a year.

Speaking after the sentencing, the married couple spoke of how they escaped city life for the peace of the countryside - but ended up next door to the "neighbour from hell".

Mr Meaton, 56, ended his City career as an insurance writer to move from Biggin Hill with wife Liz to the serenity of Halstead seven years ago.

But their peaceful life of tending to the chickens and producing homemade jam alongside their rescue dogs was shattered when Lewis moved next door.

Lewis, who often goes by the name of Peter, wrongly believed he was rightful heir to a portion of their plot and turned abusive when they disagreed.

Simon said: "He decided that the end of our garden belonged to him and he kept shouting abuse and he threatened to smash up our garden."

Special needs teacher Liz, 54, was at home when abusive Lewis started his garden tirade.

She said: "He is the neighbour from hell.

"He turned up in the garden and I came inside and called the police. While I was on the phone to them he was tearing down the garden.

"He pushed a 7ft pergola down with his hands.

"Then I heard this terrible noise he had actually come into our garden on his JCB and smashed down the chicken house.

"I didn't know whether they got out or whether he killed them.

"Then he started dumping piles of rubble.

"It seemed like it was going on forever but I have no idea how long it actually was.

"He smashed up all our hard work. We had just made it nice."

Sadly, although the chickens got out two of them died just days later.

Simon, who now works part time as a gardener, said: "We wanted to move somewhere nice and tranquil and idyllic but little did we know."

Ever since the garden attack in August 2013 they have lived in fear of their neighbour.

This was heightened when Simon was away caring for his mum, war widower Wendy Meaton, in Beckenham while she struggled to recover from the heart attack that eventually led to her death in December aged 94.

The grandparents-of-two and parents-of-four hope the suspended sentence will prevent any further tirades.

Additional reporting by Sam Blewett.