A nightmare neighbour who has breached court orders nearly 30 times has been jailed for 16 weeks for swearing at a neighbour.
Linda Frost was holding her 15-month-old grandchild and talking to an elderly neighbour in Eve’s Orchard, Bures, when Michael Cornwell swore at her and accused her of being nosey, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
Oliver Haswell, prosecuting, said that Cornwell was made the subject of a two-year restraining order banning him from contacting neighbours in Eve’s Orchard in March this year.
Three months later, on June 20, Cornwell had started playing music at an anti-social volume which “caused concern” to neighbours.
Mrs Frost was talking to a neighbour when she heard Cornwell accuse her of being nosey and swore at her, said Mr Haswell.
A council worker witnessed the incident and described Mrs Frost as being very upset and “at the end of her tether” with Cornwell’s behaviour.
Cornwell, who was jailed for 38 weeks earlier this year after losing his appeal against five breaches of a restraining order, admitted breaching a restraining order in relation to the incident involving Mrs Frost.
He was jailed for 16 weeks to run consecutively to his current sentence.
Sentencing him today, Judge John Devaux said a psychiatric report stated that Cornwell had a mental disorder that was not of a nature or degree which warranted his detention in hospital at present.
He said Cornwell had a poor record of compliance with orders and there was no prospect of him co-operating with agencies who were there to help him in the community.
“There is no alternative to immediate custody,” said the judge.
Edward Cole, for Cornwell, said his client had a long history of involvement with mental health services and had bipolar affective disorder which resulted in episodes of mania and aggression.
He said that while Cornwell had been in custody his condition had been supervised and he was currently calm and in remission.
He said that as a result of his court appearances Cornwell had now been evicted from his home.
An earlier hearing heard that Cornwell had breached restraining orders relating to neighbours in Eve’s Orchard and his previous neighbours in Monks Eleigh a total of 28 times.
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