A couple have been given a restraining order against their neighbours after a petty dispute descended into a racism row over displays of Iranian and Israeli flags.
Kelly Littlefield, whose partner is of Iranian descent, called neighbour Cherri Parsons a ‘Jewish b***’ after she put up Israeli flags close to the boundary fence to mark Passover.
Littlefield, 47, was also caught on camera in her garden telling Mrs Parsons that it ‘must be nice to be Jewish going around killing people’ before she managed to smash three of the flag poles with a piece of wood.
Magistrates heard the two couples had lived alongside each other amicably in a respectable suburban road in Bournemouth, Dorset, for several years until 2016 – when the Parsons say an extension they added to their £450,000 detached home triggered a fall out.
The two parties made more than 50 complaints about each other to police until matters reached a head in April last year. Mrs Parsons, 45, accused her neighbours of a provocative act by unfurling a large Iranian flag on their property on the same day as the Jewish holiday.
Kelly Littlefield and her partner Jamal Mirmiran – who is of Iranian decent – have been given a restraining order. The couple are pictured leaving Poole Magistrates’ Court together
Littlefield, called neighbour Cherri Parsons (pictured) a ‘Jewish b****’ after she put up Israeli flags close to the boundary fence to mark Passover
Magistrates heard the two couples had lived alongside each other amicably in a respectable road in Bournemouth, Dorset (pictured) before falling out over an extension in 2016
Littlefield and her partner Jamal Mirmiran, a 67-year-old company director who runs a luxury car dealership, claimed they were merely celebrating Ramadan.
Two days later Mirmiran launched a ‘tirade of abuse’ at Matthew Parsons, a precision engineer who runs his own company, as he banged on his door, telling the couple they needed to apologise to his partner.
He called his 46-year-old neighbour a ‘b****** c*** and motherf****r’ during the foul-mouthed tirade.
The pair have now pleaded guilty to using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress, with Littlefield’s offence being racially aggravated.
On Wednesday they were handed a 12-month restraining order with conditions not to enter the Parsons’ land and not to contact them directly or indirectly.
Littlefield was fined £269 and ordered to pay £234 costs and Mirmiran was fined £311 and ordered to pay £434 costs.
Following the case, Mrs Parsons told the Mail the couple had suffered ‘seven years of hell and we’re just glad it’s finished’ and that the nightmare neighbours had been punished. She declined to comment further.
Poole Magistrates heard that the Parsons attend a Christian church linked to the Christian community in Israel. But as well as celebrating Christian festivals, they also mark Jewish ones.
Matthew and Cherri Parsons are pictured leaving Poole Magistrates’ Court after their neighbours were issued with a restraining order
Littlefield (pictured) was caught on camera telling Mrs Parsons that it ‘must be nice to be Jewish going around killing people’ before she smashed three flag poles with some wood
Charles Nightingale, prosecuting, said: ‘The date in question was Christian Easter and Jewish Passover.
‘Feeling that the erection of an Iranian flag by Mr Mirmiran was a provocative act, Mrs Parson purchased six small Israeli flags on sticks.’
He said the A4 paper-sized flags were erected on a board on a flat roof close to the boundary between the properties, making Littlefield ‘extremely annoyed’.
She was then filmed by Mrs Parsons ranting offensively in her garden.
The prosecutor added: ‘When Mrs Parsons shouted that her comments were anti-Semitic and racist Littlefield said: “I’m going to get my BB gun and shoot them all”.
‘Mrs Parsons doesn’t know if that was a reference to Jewish people, her flags or them, the Parsons.’
The court heard Littlefield then began knocking down the flagpoles with a length of wood.
‘There was a lot of verbal abuse directed towards Mrs Parsons. She works principally from home and this has had a significant impact on her, she feels anxious and worried while she’s at home on her own.’
The incident involving Mirmiran was captured on the Parsons’ CCTV camera at the front of their detached house, leaving the engineer feeling ‘threatened and intimidated’.
In a reference to Israel’s unfolding war on Hamas, Mr Nightingale stressed that the incidents occurred well before the present day international events’.
Pictured: Kelly Littlefield’s and Cherri Parsons’ street in Bournemouth, Dorset
He said relationships between the two parties were ‘still extremely difficult’, but there had been no further offending.
Jonathan Morrissey, defending, said the main issue between the two parties had been the use of surveillance cameras.
He said Littlefield ‘was having a rant, nothing else’, adding: ‘She would not dream of killing anybody, she does not own a BB gun.’
He said both Littlefield and Mirmiran accepted their language had been ‘extreme’.
The court heard Littlefield and Mirmiran had alleged that the ill-feeling stemmed from them coming back from holiday to find bush cuttings had been thrown into their garden.
David Lawrence, presiding magistrate, described the case as ‘very unfortunate’.
During Passover, Jews remember how their ancestors left slavery behind them when they were led out of Egypt by Moses.
Ramadan remembers the month the Koran (Muslim holy book) was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims won’t eat or drink during the hours of daylight.