Woman, 62, keyed neighbours cars because she was feeling 'menopausal'
A woman who caused thousands of pounds worth of damage after she keyed her neighbour's cars said she did it because she was "feeling menopausal", a court has heard.
Sue Williams, 62, confessed to keying eight vehicles in the commuter village of West Kingsdown, Kent, during a crime spree which took place last year. She was ordered to pay £4,500 of damages to her victims, with three residents awarded £500 each and five awarded £600.
Natalie Hibberd, 42, said it took her months to save enough money to put a down payment on her £42,000 SEAT Tarraco. Her car was one of the vehicles keyed by Williams. The mum-of-three said she purchased the new car for more space and because of ULEZ as she travels in and out of London. She said she had only left her car for an hour when it was "completely keyed on the driver's side."
She said: "I was just lucky to catch her. We didn't have a camera but our next door neighbours did and because I knew the timeframe after I had it serviced we were able to narrow it down." The mum explained she had lived in the village for 12 years and had never witnessed anything like it. Natalie said she will be getting £600 when the cost to get her car fixed will be £2,700, due to it being pearlized paint. She continued: "Sue's husband said in court that he would be cashing in his pension to help fully pay us back and the original judge said that we would get our money back in full but the sentencing judge reduced it. We haven't had the damage repaired yet because we can't justify it with a cost-of-living crisis on."
Trader Steve Rothery said his £70,000 Range Rover Vogue was damaged by Williams and said the damage was so "embarrassing" that he had to get rid of his car. Steve, who lives with his wife Lisa, said his car was targeted within just minutes of leaving it. "What really p*****s me off is that she pleaded guilty and the judge said her husband would pay for all the damage, then another judge allowed her to only pay half the costs," he said. "It cost me £1,200 to get the damage fixed. It's not something you can buff out with a bit of polish."
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Residents claim further vandalism has since taken place in the area by more culprits and said that all of the vehicles that have been wrecked were parked partly on the pavement on narrow roads. Williams admitted to all eight counts when she appeared in Medway Magistrates' Court on August 14. Her sentencing was adjourned and she later returned on October 25 to be sentenced. Magistrates turned to her and said she would be placed under curfew for three months.
As part of the rules, she will have to stay inside from 8pm to 6am. The court also gave her a compensation order because her victims had to either pay out for the repairs or would have to hand over more money to their insurance policies when being renewed because they made claims. She will have to pay back the entire amount within six months.
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