A 76-year-old man has been handed a conditional discharge after killing his neighbour's koi fish in a dispute over a noisy water pump.
Gerry Duffy, of Hadley Road, Barnet, north London, pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (August 4) to damaging a pond, fish, water pump and pipes in March. He used motor oil and detergent to kill up to six fish, causing over £500 worth of damage.
Warning before the incident
The court heard that Duffy had previously complained to his neighbour, Andreas Ptohides, about noise from the fishpond. Prosecutor Shahid Iftakhar said Duffy had told Ptohides: "if you didn't deal with it, I would" – a warning before the incident.
Iftakhar described the case as a "neighbour dispute" that resulted in the death of "five or six" koi carp and potentially £565 worth of damage.
Caught on CCTV
The prosecution said Duffy was caught on CCTV having "climbed into the complainant's garden and damaged the water pipes and pumps".
In mitigation, Elliott Stern said his client had tried to resolve the dispute without resorting to killing the fish. Stern told the court: "The man has been driven completely insane by this noise, he's spoken to the complainant several times. They initially said they would stop the water pump going but then turned around and said that's not good for the fish."
Environmental officer advice
An environmental officer visited the property and told Duffy he either had to "move or close his window", the court was told. Stern added: "Out of sheer frustration and lack of sleep, Mr Duffy, out of character, I would say, lost his mind and committed various damages."
Duffy pleaded guilty to three counts of damaging property and one count of unlawfully destroying fish. He was handed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £565 compensation to Mr Ptohides.
