A 76-year-old man has admitted to killing his neighbour's fish and damaging property out of "sheer frustration and lack of sleep", a court has heard.
Gerry Duffy, of Hadley Road, Barnet, north London, pleaded guilty on Tuesday at Willesden Magistrates' Court to damaging a fishpond, fish, water pump and pipes in March.
Neighbour dispute escalates
The court was told Duffy had previously complained to his neighbour, Andreas Ptohides, about the noise from a water pump running the fishpond. He had warned that if the issue was not resolved, he would take matters into his own hands.
Prosecutor Shahid Iftakhar said the dispute resulted in the death of "five or six" Koi carp and caused approximately £565 in damage.
"The defendant has previously complained to the complainant about noise coming from his garden and has said words to the effect of, 'if you didn't deal with it, I would' – there was a warning before the incident," Iftakhar said.
CCTV evidence
CCTV footage showed Duffy climbing into the neighbour's garden and damaging the water pipes and pumps, the prosecution added.
In mitigation, Elliott Stern said his client had tried to resolve the dispute without resorting to such actions.
"The man has been driven completely insane by this noise, he's spoken to the complainant several times," Stern said. "They initially said they would stop the water pump going but then turned around and said that's not good for the fish."
An environmental officer had advised Duffy to either "move or close his window", the court heard.
"Out of sheer frustration and lack of sleep, Mr Duffy, out of character, I would say, lost his mind and committed various damages," Stern added.
Duffy is due to be sentenced later on Tuesday morning.
