Prudhoe man pushed and killed pensioner in row sparked by complaints about kittens

A man has been jailed after pushing over a 79-year-man and killing him in a dispute over his neighbour's kittens.

Roy Clayton was acting as a Good Samaritan when he was pushed by Gary Anderson, falling and breaking his neck.

The 79-year-old was paralysed from the neck down and died four days later.

Anderson pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was jailed for four years at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday 20 February.

The court heard Anderson had been in dispute with neighbour Judith Tweddle and had made her life a "living hell" after he complained about the noise her kittens made.

He repeatedly banged the wall and shouted aggressively, the court heard.

Ms Tweddle, who lived alone, was good friends with Mr Clayton, her neighbour of 36 years.

In December 2021, Mr Clayton went round to try to fix her sticking door when they heard Anderson shouting and swearing aggressively and Mr Clayton decided to go round to try to reason with him.

The court heard Anderson ended up coming out and pushing the 79-year-old, causing him to fall backwards and break his neck.

Ms Tweddle had got two kittens in October 2020 and allowed them to run around her house in Prudhoe, Northumberland.

Glenn Gatland, prosecuting, said: "The defendant appeared to have a problems with this and would bang on the wall and shout aggressively telling them to shut up.

"Ms Tweddle found this extremely intimidating. She felt frightened and vulnerable as a woman on her own. She tried to keep the noise to a minimum and kept them in the furthest room from the defendant's house.

"The shouting and banging continued for the rest of the year but she was too scared to report the defendant to the council or police because she was worried about what he might do if she reported him.

"She described being in a living hell and didn't feel safe in her own home. She confided in Roy Clayton and his wife and Roy offered to speak to the defendant a number of times to try to resolve the issue but she said she was worried about what would happen if he got involved."

In May or June 2021 Mr Clayton told Anderson he would be laying some flooring at Ms Tweddle's home and that there may be some noise and he was fine with him. Then on 10 December 2021 Ms Tweddle found her side door was sticking and asked Mr Clayton to help with that.

When he went round between 9 and 9:30am, Anderson started shouting aggressively and swearing and was heard to slam a window shut, which shocked and distressed Ms Tweddle. Mr Clayton said he would go to try to reason with him and did so, despite Ms Tweddle's attempts to persuade him not to.

He knocked on the door then on the window next to the door then began to walk away until a window was opened by Anderson and there were raised voices between the pair.

Anderson then slammed the window shut then raced outside towards Mr Clayton, shouting at him.

Mr Gatland said: "The defendant then pushed Roy Clayton with both hands to the upper body. Mr Clayton stepped back to retain his balance and the defendant pushed him again to the chest with one hand, causing him to fall backwards."

One witness described Anderson "launching himself" at Mr Clayton, who fell back down the sloped garden and was left lying unconscious, partly in a hedge, with a lot of blood on the back of his head and coming out of his ear.

A number of people tended to him, including Anderson, who also called an ambulance. When Ms Tweddle asked why he had shouted at her, he replied: "You woke me up."

Mr Clayton suffered a broken neck and was left paralysed from the neck down and only able to communicate by blinking. He was aware he would never be able to move, speak or breathe independently again and died on 14 December.

In a victim impact statement on behalf of herself and her siblings, his daughter, Caroline Clayton-Ridley, said: "We are now without a dad, a dad who was doing a good deed for a neighbour. Hearing our dad was in hospital with a broken neck was almost impossible for us to take in.

"He was always a big, strong and gentle man. You only see things like this on TV, it doesn't happen to people like us.

"Having to see our dad unable to move, speak or breathe is something we will never be able to come to terms with. What's worse is knowing what was going through our poor dad's mind as he was told he would not be able to move, speak or breathe independently again.

"Because of the actions of another we will never get to hug our dad again or to celebrate birthdays. He will never meet his great grandchildren and they will not meet him. He was taken from his family, destroying the lives of so many people."

Anderson, 49, who has 42 previous convictions, including for assaults in the 1990s, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis he didn't intend to push him over and only meant to push him into the hedge at the bottom of the garden. He was jailed for four years.

Brian Hegarty, mitigating, said: "He recognises the impact his actions have had and he wishes to apologise to the family of Roy Clayton and his many friends for the loss he has caused. He acknowledges their loss is a consequence of his actions, which have resulted in a needless death of a man who was held in high regard by many.

"It appears the issue on that day was noise intolerance by the defendant. He shows very deep regret for his actions."

The court heard his mental health issues were exacerbated by the fact he was smoking several cannabis joints and drinking severals cans of lager a day at the time.

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