'People laughed at me in prison when I told them what I was in for': Father-of-five jailed and fined £475,000 after threatening next door neighbours says his family have been denied justice and now face being homeless...all over a garden fence

A father-of-five, who was jailed and handed a £475,000 court bill after threatening his next door neighbours during a bitter row over a garden fence, has said his family was denied justice.

Mark Coates, 56, and wife Louise, 52, have been involved in an 'aggressive and violent' dispute with Brian Greenwood, 69, and Janice Turner, 65, after moving in to their semi-detached countryside home near Hastings in 2015. 

The row came after a disagreement in 2016 over a fence between their homes on a quiet road in Robertsbridge. The Coates family wanted to replace the structure, which had fallen in a storm, with a brick wall but Mrs Taylor claimed this would encroach on her land.

It was later claimed both neighbours had set up 'surveillance cameras' to monitor the other, while Mr Coates, who is a full-time carer for his disabled son, was accused of swearing at Mr Greenwood and Mrs Turner and throwing stones at their window.

Mr Coates, who spent seven weeks in prison for being in contempt of court, was ordered to pay a £475,000 court bill this week and looks set to be made homeless in a bid to pay the hefty sum.

The father-of-five has now argued that his family was denied justice because they could not afford to pay for lawyers.

He said: 'If you've got the money, you can get justice. I've been arrested five times and jailed.

'The judicial system just lets you down.'

Mr Coates, who is originally from London, moved with his wife to Robertsbridge from Edenbridge in order to have a garden and extra space.

He said: 'We saw the potential and wanted to build an extension.

'I built two sheds to make a gym for my son.

'When we first moved in we had concerns about the fence position. It was overlapping our property.

'We took pictures and it clearly shows.'

The partition had to be rebuilt at the bottom of the 175-foot garden after a storm blew it down.

Mr Coates claimed the structure, which was alleged to be 4.79 feet inside his land at its widest point, encroached on his property even more after the reconstruction and did not follow the measurements in the title deeds. 

In October 2020, during an early hearing in the dispute, the couples were warned by High Court judge Mr Justice Morgan that persisting in the row could result in financial ruin for one or both sets of neighbours.

But despite the warning, the case continued and ended up before Judge Sarah Venn at Hastings County Court, who in September 2022 found against Mr and Mrs Coates on the row over the position of the boundary.

But the matter did not end there, with Mr Coates hauled back to court in October 2023 and accused of 'juvenile behaviour' by his neighbours, in breach of the terms of an injunction made by Judge Venn to try to defuse the row.

He had damaged his neighbours' property by throwing stones at a bedroom window and used abusive language, swearing at them, Judge Venn ultimately found.

The judge was given video which she said showed Mr Coates approaching Mrs Turner, 'visibly angry' and making 'abusive comments and engaged in physically threatening behaviour.'

She also found that comments made by Mr Coates in court amounted to a 'threat' to his neighbours or their property.

The warring homeowner was jailed for 252 days last year for contempt of court following his outburst but only served 47 days.

He said: 'People laughed at me in prison when I told them what I was in for.'

The 56-year-old said that, despite not having had legal representation, he and his wife had 'not just gone about it willy nilly'.

He said: 'The survey clearly showed it and it lined up with the Land Registry.

'The first survey told [Mr Greenwood and Mrs Turner] their fence 'was not a good fit'.

'They knew they were in the wrong and it has just escalated.

'We have been treated with contempt throughout. We have been fobbed off because we were without legal representation.

'We have been denied evidence. They wouldn't give us the transcript of the hearing, so we couldn't get a fair hearing.

'I'm appealing that decision because new evidence came to light to show we never had a fair trial.

'I've asked the Lord Chief Justice to investigate.'

Mr Coates added that he had been 'stitched up' during the bitter conflict.

'This has always been in front of the same judge and I believe there is a conflict of interest,' he said.

'I've had police and council constantly harassing me. They only ever take a one-sided view and they should not have got involved in the first place.

'I've got nothing to hide, but the judicial system lets you down. Because we can't afford legal representation, we've been screwed.

'I've been stitched up.

'Because I'm a stocky, bald headed bloke, I get misjudged. I do get angry but that is because I'm frustrated with the situation.

'I don't know how I can win. Now my children have no home to come back to.'

After handing the Coates the hefty court bill, High Court judge Master James Brightwell, said a forced sale of the property - thought to be worth about £420,000 - was the only way that the debt would be paid.

But Mr Coates told the judge that he doubted whether the house would sell for that amount, adding: 'I don't know who would want to live next to them anyway.' 

Mr Coates added that he and his wife were considering rehousing their pet dog. 

He added: 'Boundary disputes are unfortunate because they spring from bad feeling between neighbours.

'Worse still, these proceedings are not cheap if lawyers are involved. It is not unknown for cases of this kind to result in the bankruptcy of one or both sides. 

'That is why boundary dispute litigation is often said to be very very unfortunate.'