Neighbour found guilty of harassment campaign against disabled man

The moment Stephen Groves took a hammer to his neighbour's Ring doorbell

A neighbour who terrorised a disabled man has been found guilty of harassment without violence at Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Stephen Groves, 56, of Pear Tree Road in Shard End repeatedly harassed his neighbour Steven Persaud, 61 and care worker Dawn Hadley.

During the harassment campaign, Groves allegedly tried to destroy Mr Persaud's Ring doorbell on numerous occasions by smashing it with a screw driver and a hammer.

He also took a pen to the lens of the camera - and attempted to rip the camera off with his hands.

The court also heard Groves would play loud "thumping" music making his victims feel uncomfortable and on one occasion had locked them in a communal alleyway, refusing to let them out.

Speaking after the court case Mr Persaud's niece, Victoria Rascinskis, said: "It has been hell for my uncle.

"He is a disabled man with Parkinson's disease and he just doesn't need this added stress."

Ms Rascinskis: "It is has also been terrible for the carers who come to his home who are just trying to do their jobs.

"I just hope he receives the sentence he deserves. We need this to stop as we are all at the end of our tethers," she adds.

In a voluntary statement given to police, Groves admitted he was causing distress to carer, Ms Hadley, by playing loud music.

Groves was asked: "Did you cause Dawn alarm or distress?"

He said: "Yes maybe it was the music. I was being silly. Maybe she feels unsafe because of the music. It could cause alarm and distress."

Groves has already admitted criminal damage before a Magistrates in August 2021 for attempting to destroy the Ring doorbell by cutting its wires when it was first installed.

After failing to appear in court yesterday, he will appear back for sentencing in February.