NIGHTMARE STREET Is this WORST neighbour in Britain? ‘Grumpy old git’ creep banned from street after leaving residents living in fear

A YOB branded a “neighbour from hell” by furious locals has been jailed after a year-long campaign of misery on a sleepy seaside street.

Stephen Bowes, 72, was accused by neighbours of acting like he “owned the road”, with some families even selling up and moving away because of his behaviour.

 

In a bizarre twist, a sign hanging outside Bowes’ home, which has multiple CCTV cameras fixed to it, even warns locals: “Beware of the grumpy old git.”

Bowes has now been locked up for 12 months after committing 11 offences against residents living on the street in the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, in the past year alone.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “He is a scary person. It was like he owned the street. If you parked outside his house he would unleash hell.

“Either he would angrily confront you, and he wouldn’t hold back, or sometimes he would chillingly just stare at you.

 

 

 

“After he left, you’d forget about it, and suddenly you would notice your car had been keyed.

“I mean you wouldn’t be able to prove it was him, but it seems like a coincidence. This happened to multiple people.”

Neighbours claim Bowes spent years “creeping around” before dawn, rummaging through bins and gardens and poking around beneath parked cars.

Locals also accuse him of moving his fleet of “8-10” vehicles at all hours of the night, waking the narrow residential street.

 

 

 

They said his crimes ranged from petty thefts and anti-social behaviour to a terrifying alleyway blaze neighbours feared could have killed someone.

The most serious offence centred on an arson attack in a narrow alleyway behind Bowes’ home following a row with a neighbour.

Bowes was accused of stuffing a pillow into a tyre before setting it alight against a fence.

Burnt remains of the tyre and charred fencing are still visible at the scene.

Though Bowes’ wife Sue told The Sun the fire had been “blown out of proportion”.

Colm Harkin lives on a road parallel which is separated by the alleyway.

He recalled being woken at 3.30am by his terrified wife after she spotted flames tearing through their fence.

“The size of the flames were bloody enormous, it was really worrying.

“You just immediately think, how on earth could this have happened,” he told The Sun.

“My wife and I were extremely shocked and worried, you could hear the crackles as the fire was spreading.

“My wife and I came out to have a look and he [Bowes] was there with a garden hose trying to put the fire, which was still spreading, out.

“Seeing him doing that was suspicious and I rang the fire brigade. I was terrified to have been woken at such a time to a fire.

“I didn’t even know the man. The alleyway here separates us. I feel a lot safer now he is in prison, and when now he is released he is banned from the alleyways.”

Neighbours told The Sun they were too frightened to be identified for fear of repercussions when Bowes is released.

But resident Shaun Ryan said Bowes had become a “nightmare” for the whole street.

“My neighbour runs a fencing business and he was always helping himself to bits of wood he had stored around the back,” Shaun said.

“He is a nightmare, he would creep people out. People would look out their windows and see him poking around in their gardens.

“I would keep my bin in my back garden and I knew he was going through it. When one morning I went outside and it was gone, like how weird is that.

“I couldn’t prove he’d taken the whole bin, but I’d seen him going through it, as most people have seen him doing so with theirs, and then mine mysteriously disappeared.

“He created havoc down here, people were scared of him, there was all sorts of rumours about him following women around, being banned from shops, being aggressive and intimidating.

“Stephen had about 8 to ten motors which took over his section of the street and would be moving them about at 4am, waking the whole road up.

“People were selling up and moving away because of him.”

An elderly woman, who has known Bowes most of his life since her eldest son grew up with him, said: “Nobody wants him back.

“You don’t want somebody living next to you who sets fire to things. It is a crime of great severity.

“That fire could have grown seriously out of control and easily caused a threat to life of everyone here who were all innocently sleeping.

“But while most people are sleeping, it is typical of him to be out and about and up to no good, he really did turn into the neighbour from hell.

“The most scary thing about it is the suspected motive behind the fire, it all followed a row with the neighbour over parking out the front, just unbelievable and god knows what else he is capable of.”

But Bowes’ wife of 52-years, Sue, insisted her husband has been “unfairly treated” and the fire had been “blown out of proportion”.

“He is a family man and not a mass arsonist, he is really caring and lovely,” she said.

“Stephen gets on with a lot of the neighbours. It is only a few who have issues and this has all been blown out of proportion.

“I think he has been so unfairly treated and is being persecuted.

“Many living on the street have come round to ask after him and helping me with his vehicles.

“The whole fire ordeal is massively blown out of proportion, it was literally a bit of rubbish that caught alight, that was all, accidents happen. It was a tiny fire.

“The tattoo on his face is to cover up a scar and nothing to do with the SS like horrible people have suggested on social media.

“He has had the police round for sweeping leaves in the road, neighbours would be reporting him for stuff that literally isn’t a crime.

“He is being treated like a murderer.

“There is people who have done a lot worse than him that get away with it and will never go to prison.”

On May 12, Bowes was sentenced at Margate Magistrates’ Court to a year behind bars and handed a Criminal Behaviour Order lasting three years.

Under the order, he is banned from entering any garden, pathway or driveway on the street without permission, making excessive noise in the area and entering the sports field opposite the street.

Inspector Julia Bassindale said: “Bowes’ sustained and persistent offending has caused untold distress to residents, and we are pleased to have obtained a CBO which will hopefully persuade him to change his ways.

“This result is a testament to the effective joint working of several teams as well as individual officers such as beat officer PC Alison Honess who put a lot of work into securing this sentence and court order.

“If Bowes breaks the imposed conditions, he will quickly find himself back in front of a judge and face the consequences of his actions.”