A couple once banned from looking into their neighbour's home, say they are 'ecstatic' after charges of harassment against them were finally dropped.
Nigel and Sheila Jacklin have been embroiled in a bitter 11-year row with their neighbour sparked by 'noisy' building work. The spat in the town of Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, saw the couple legally barred from looking into the home of neighbour Dr Stephane Duckett and his partner.
Earlier this year the couple was accused of 'chanting, staring and sticking their fingers up' at their neighbours from a nearby beach. Both were charged with harassment but claimed the chanting and finger-pointing were part of Sheila's Hindu prayer routine. Nigel, 62, was also charged with assaulting a female friend of their neighbours during a separate row outside his £600k home.
However yesterday all charges against the couple, which they denied, were dropped when they appeared before magistrates in Brighton, East Sussex. The Jacklins appeared at Brighton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday having pleaded not guilty to harassment of their neighbour, Mr Jacklin also pleaded not guilty to an assault and both husband and wife claim it was they who had been assaulted. Mrs Jacklin, 61, said the chanting, staring and movement of her fingers were a part of her Sanskrit mantras.
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The Crown Prosecution Service requested an adjournment which was refused by the court - meaning no evidence was offered by the prosecution. The Jacklins were told they were 'free to go'. Mr Jacklin, a statistician and market researcher, said: "We are feeling relieved, elated and p****d off. This should never have gone to the court. This is the fourth time my wife has been investigated for praying on the beach.
"We've been investigated 12 times with no action taken against us in any case. That's not a series of police mistakes - that is an abuse of police power." Mr Jacklin, a councillor, said the couple had spent "tens of thousands of pounds" in legal fees over the repeated police investigations and court battles.
The row began in 2013 when Dr Duckett and partner Norinne Betjemann bought a 120-year-old, disused glass glazing workshop opposite their house. The couple, from London, then set about converting it into a £400,000 weekend holiday home. Mr and Mrs Jacklin made a series of complaints about their neighbours to the authorities, including noisy builders, verbal abuse and light pollution. However, the Jacklins were then "investigated" by the Rother District Council and given a 'community protection warning letter'.
They were also banned from entering an "exclusion zone" around the property owned by Dr Duckett and Ms Betjemann. The Jacklins reported their neighbours in July 2023 for harassment when they claimed Mrs Jacklin was surrounded by her neighbours filming her as she tried to pray. In September, Mr Jacklin claims he was assaulted after a friend of the Ducketts approached them on the beach outside their home.
Mr Jacklin is calling for Sussex Police to take action against the parties who he says have harassed them and made false allegations. The father-of-two said: "It is a spectacular misuse of police time. We think it's probably an abuse of police power. I stood in the general election and one of the reasons I decided to do so is because police investigated us and not our neighbours. We should stand against abuse of power. My wife's Hindu faith has helped her get through this. We've been there for 30 years and plan to leave here forever."
Dr Duckett has been contacted for comment. A Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said: “We requested an adjournment in this case in order to discharge our disclosure obligations following late submissions by the defence. Unfortunately, this request was refused by the court and we were regrettably left with no option but to offer no evidence.”
A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Sussex Police conducted a thorough, impartial investigation into multiple reports of harassment, and one reported assault, against three people between July and September 2023. Enquiries were conducted without prejudice, including multiple statements from the informants and witnesses, as well as interviews with both suspects.
"Evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which approved charges of harassment and assault by battery before no evidence was offered after Magistrates declined a request for an adjournment from the Crown Prosecution Service. Sussex Police will continue to do all it can to protect our communities and secure justice for victims of crime."
