THIS neighbour from hell's campaign of torment against other residents in her York street "cannot be allowed to continue", a judge said.
Katrina Minns has made life a misery for others living in Fossway for five years, with a catalogue of harassment, antisocial
behaviour and nuisance, York County Court heard.
Helen Greatorex, for City of York Council, said when a young pregnant woman tried to stop her swearing at her, Mrs Minns told her: "I am going to knock that baby out of your stomach. I hope you lose it."
Even a criminal antisocial behaviour order (CRASBO) has failed to stop her.
Recorder Paul Miller said: "It is a situation which simply
cannot be allowed to continue."
Today, he was expected to make an eviction order, forcing her to leave her flat within 42 days.
Seventeen neighbours had complained to the council about her behaviour, and four turned up in court prepared to give evidence against her.
"I feel a bit relieved," said one of them, Ann Vorres, after
yesterday's hearing. "But I won't be fully easy until she goes, I really won't.
"It has been frustrating, really frustrating, never knowing what I am going to find on my doorstep. She just gets a fixation."
Wheelchair-bound Alanna Kertland, who also lives in the same block of flats as Mrs Minns, described how their neighbour from hell left
stinking cat litter at her door, then rang the bell.
Fellow witness Ron Martindale, from across the road, said Minns had sent insulting letters in his name to other people.
Giving evidence earlier, Mrs Minns had said: "Definitely no," when asked if she would continue her harassment.
But the judge said: "There is no realistic prospect of similar behaviour not continuing in the future, to the considerable
distress of various neighbours."
Miss Greatorex said Mrs Minns had broken a CRASBO banning her nuisance behaviour, and flouted an acceptable
behaviour contract she had signed with City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police.
Mrs Minns told the court she had already started looking for another home. She claimed her neighbours had been causing her trouble.
"They should keep themselves to themselves and keep out of my business," she said. "They have got themselves to blame."
But the judge said her
accusations were an attempt to justify her behaviour, or cast blame elsewhere.
For Mrs Minns, Christopher Dodds argued against an
eviction order, and said she may have mental health problems.
Today, the council was trying to have Mrs Minns' partner evicted too, on the grounds that if he stayed she would too.
:: Nightmare in Fossway
Katrina Minns ordered items from catalogues in neighbours' names and had them delivered to their doorsteps
Wrote insulting letters and signed them in a neighbour's name
Posted doormats and "nasty" newspaper articles through letterboxes
Phoned the council's Children's Services and pretended that a neighbour wanted his child adopting
Threatened to make a pregnant woman miscarry
Threw stones at a neighbour's property
Put glue on a neighbour's window
Threw rubbish at neighbours' windows
Threw water at a neighbour's door
Left old food outside a neighbour's door
:: A tale of broken promises
In the "acceptable behaviour contract" she signed with City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police on October 8, 2004, and then flouted, she promised to stop:
Contacting any authority, business or organisation pretending to be someone else
Telling police or the authorities about incidents that never happened
Ordering taxis, food or catalogue goods in someone else's name
Dropping litter and other items out of windows or leaving them in the communal hallways of the block of flats where she lives.
Updated: 09:27 Friday, March 24, 2006
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