Man who recorded his neighbour's dog barking and played it back at 3am escapes a jail sentence
A NEIGHBOUR driven barking mad by the sound of a yapping dog has avoided jail by a whisker.
Jobless Andrew Nicklin became enraged by Buster the terrier’s din – so recorded his yelps and played it at 3am to annoy the mutt’s owner next door.
He also branded long-suffering hairdresser Catherine Farrell a “brain of Britain” moron during their two-year dispute, banged on her fence and played his drums loudly.
But District Judge Jack McGarva decided against sending Nicklin to jail after reports painted a picture of an essentially “hard-working man”.
He instead sentenced the 50-year-old, of Nuthurst Road, West Heath, to a 12-month community order and ordered him to perform 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £250 costs. Nicklin, who previously admitted a charge of harassment, was also ordered to stay away from mum-of-two Ms Farrell and banned from playing drums, guitar or any pre-recorded sounds outside her home.
The judge told Nicklin: “Your solicitor and the pre-sentence reports paint a picture of a hard-working man who makes a good contribution to various aspects of society.
“But the behaviour you have admitted to was not the behaviour I would expect from that sort of person.
