Home improvement guy uses skills to sabotage neighbor's house

Terence Alun Jacob of South Wales thought his neighbors were too noisy, so he used his DIY skills to damage their house in sneaky ways...

...including drilling holes in the roof to let the rain in, super-gluing the door locks, removing a security light by smashing it and redecorating the front of a house by throwing paint over it.

The court heard that Jacob also removed a CCTV camera, smashed the front door, cut wiring from the satellite dish, scaled the flat roof and filled the drains and drainpipes with expanding insulating foam, causing them to block.

He was arrested, entered a plea of guilty and was ordered to perform 100 hours of unpaid work.

[#1 posted by etho , March 24, 2008 10:22 AM]

Wait what's sneaky about smashing the front door, smashing a light and throwing paint on the house? This guy sounds like a twunt.

[#2 posted by Xopher , March 24, 2008 10:47 AM]

I hope the hundred hours was IN ADDITION to fixing (or paying to have fixed) all the damage to his neighbors' house.

[#3 posted by Christovir , March 24, 2008 10:58 AM]

Yeah, though I've not RTFA, the description here sounds not so much like using DIY skills creatively, but just using DIY tools for (rather severe) uncreative vandalism.

[#4 posted by Suburbancowboy , March 24, 2008 11:48 AM]

The headline of the article mademe hope that he would've done awesome things like make all the doors open in the opposite direction. Make the faucet for the hose flush the toilet. Ringing the front doorbell would open the garage door. etc.

[#5 posted by Xopher , March 24, 2008 11:52 AM]

Christovir, I don't see a link on this one to allow me to RTFA. I wanted to see if the court decision had anything to say about fixing the neighbors' house. Am I blind?

[#6 posted by tastypopsicle , March 24, 2008 12:00 PM]

You can RTFA from here.

FTA:

Jacob, of Tyle Teg, Burry Port, carried out the attacks between November 11, 2004, and January 10, 2008.

Presiding magistrate Ken Burton imposed a 12-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a restraining order for 12 months not to enter his neighbours' house and was ordered to pay £60 costs.

[#7 posted by Antinous , March 24, 2008 12:07 PM]

100 hours of community service and a £60 fine for making someone's life hell? That's an incentive to do it again.

[#8 posted by Christovir , March 24, 2008 12:19 PM]

Xopher, nope, there was no original link, which is why I didn't RTFA. Tastypopsicle to the rescue.

[#9 posted by strathmeyer , March 24, 2008 12:36 PM]

Antinous: "100 hours of community service and a £60 fine for making someone's life hell? That's an incentive to do it again."

It's also an incentive to have it done to you.

[#10 posted by Chevan , March 24, 2008 1:03 PM]

It specifies 100 hours of unpaid work, not community service, so I'm guessing that 100 hours is the time he'll be spending fixing the neighbor's house.

And if "home improvement guy" is the same thing as personal contractor, 100 hours of unpaid work is a pretty serious punishment.

[#11 posted by ZehnKatzen , March 24, 2008 1:11 PM]

Well, when they outlaw superglue, only ______ will have _______.

The answer to this is left as an exercise to the reader.

[#12 posted by Roger Strong , March 24, 2008 2:45 PM]

>> I'm guessing that 100 hours is the time he'll
>> be spending fixing the neighbor's house.

Nope. He has a restraining order barring him from entering this neighbor's house. Granted, much of the damage he did was to the outside of the house.

But if I were the victim, there's NO WAY I would allow him in my house, let alone my yard. Plus I'd want the repairs done by a professional, or at least someone with a bit of common sense. This idiot does not qualify.

[#13 posted by ecavalli , March 25, 2008 3:23 AM]

It seems to me that his "DIY skills" never really came into play here. The mischief he pulled was nothing a 16 year old with an inventive streak couldn't have come up with.

That said, at least he was thorough about it.