A neighbour from hell caused almost £50,000 of damage to a formerly close friend’s home by drilling a hole in the wall and repeatedly flooding the foundations.
Electrician Francis McGourty used a hosepipe to unleash a torrent of water into Shirley Elliott’s Bridge of Earn home after he fell out with her.
Although Perth Sheriff Court accepted he carried out his bizarre actions over a single weekend, the extent of damage forced Miss Elliott out of the home she shares with son David (21) and partner Colin Callachan (51) for six months.
McGourty (51), now of Kinfauns, had originally been charged with maliciously damaging the house on Dunbarney Avenue by repeatedly pumping water into the foundations between June 1, 2008, and April 19 last year.
He pled guilty to doing so on April 18 and 19 last year.
Miss Elliott (53), an administration assistant at Perth High School, said she had often heard the sound of water rushing in the house, but hadn’t been able to locate the source.
She became convinced her home was being sabotaged and alerted the police on April 18 last year, stopping short of demanding they visit the house.Caught red-handedThe next day, though, she returned home to catch McGourty “red-handed” in his garden with the hosepipe sticking out of her wall.
She said, “We took photos of the hose going into our property and phoned the police.
“They came round and immediately heard the water and sneaked about the property and looked over and saw the hose and arrested him as he ran to switch his outside tap off.”
She said the water was inches deep when the flooring was ripped up and the pipework and electrics were ruined.
She said, “Builders came in and ripped up the floor and we lived with that through the coldest winter anyone can remember before the insurance moved us out in February.
“The whole house was absolutely freezing and we were freezing — they ripped the whole extension out, down to the bare walls.”£47,000 repair billThe repair cost so far has been £47,000 and Miss Elliott was forced off work through stress and Mr Callachan discovered he is suffering from lung cancer during their absence from home.
McGourty sold his house this summer and Miss Elliott said she still does not know what caused the dispute.
Depute fiscal Robbie Brown told the court McGourty’s actions had been prompted by a dispute over a “granny flat” extension built on to Miss Elliott’s house, but she denied this.
She said, “There was no fall out, and I don’t know what it was about. They just stopped talking to us.
“We had looked after each other’s kids and he was supposed to be my electrician for the extension, but then said he wasn’t doing it.”
Sheriff Jack Brown noted McGourty is a first offender and called for background reports ahead of sentencing on November 24.