Neighbour from hell set fire to woman's flat over a bitter feud

18 April 2023 , 15:57

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The argument escalated and damage was caused to a property

A Scottish woman is facing jail after a bitter feud with her neighbour led her to set fire to her house.

Ann Campbell, 54, subjected Melissa McDade to a year-long campaign of abuse in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, which included sparking two fires on her property, three months apart.

The neighbour from hell dropped burning items onto bins and furniture in the house next door. The first fire was ruled an accident after an investigation.

Ms McDade said she was only woken up during the second blaze when her dog started barking. She managed to escape the property, but collapsed on the street outside.

Ms McDade told jurors: "My dog Tilly was barking and I was asleep so thought the dog wanted out.

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Ann Campbell

The aftermath of a second fire

"I've looked up and thought I'd left the kitchen light on, but as I walked closer I noticed it wasn't a light. As I pulled open the blind I then saw the fire and the window exploded.

"I got Tilly's lead straight away, it was just scary and then I heard a loud chapping on my front door and it was Ann's son. I phoned my other neighbour to tell them to get out because there was another fire.

The second fire led to a police probe, after it caused extensive damage to a gas mains.

Campbell was convicted on multiple charges

Ms McDade added: "I got myself out and started walking away and I remember my neighbour coming running out the house as I collapsed and I remember Ann was shouting out from her living room window.

"The fire brigade came and said it was deliberate, I was just scared and in shock."

A jury convicted Campbell, who denied the charges against her, on two charges of wilful fire-raising in May and August 2021.

She was also found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive manner toward McDade between September 2020 and September 2021.

Campbell was also found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive manner

Ms McDade added: "She would shout things over the fence towards me, that I was a f*g idiot and would throw her rubbish over the fence, just anything really.

"I felt scared and intimidated because there were four adults upstairs and I was on my own downstairs."

Sheriff Colin Dunipace deferred sentence on first offender Campbell, of Hamilton, until next month for reports and continued her bail.

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He added: "You have been found guilty of extremely serious charges."

David Meikle