Latest news with #LilijanaCekauskiene
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Grandmother prosecuted after breaking neighbour's gnome
A grandmother was prosecuted for damaging her neighbour's garden gnome during a dispute over rights of access. Lorraine Hutton, 66, accidentally broke one of the legs off the 18in-ornament when she moved it from a communal pathway outside her flat in Springbourne, Bournemouth. Ms Hutton said she had apologised to owner Lilijana Cekauskiene and posted £20 through her letter box to cover the damage. But her neighbour insisted on calling the police. Ms Hutton was asked to attend a formal interview at a police station before being charged with criminal damage. She appeared in court three times, including for a three hour trial over the matter. The 15-month saga, which began in March 2024, concluded with Ms Hutton being found not guilty of criminal damage. She has now criticised both the police and CPS for allowing the matter to go to court and for wasting taxpayer money. Ms Hutton said: 'This has just been an enormous waste of time and public money. 'I have never been in trouble with the police in my life and for people of my generation to have to go to court is embarrassing. 'I wrote a letter of apology and gave her money to cover the damage. I could have been dealt with without all this expense to the taxpayer.' It is believed the case cost several thousands of pounds as Ms Hutton says she received legal aid and required a psychiatric assessment before going to court. A Lithuanian interpreter costing £55 an hour was required for Ms Cekauskiene. The CPS has insisted the case was in the public interest. Ms Hutton added: 'I am 66 and disabled. I have no previous convictions, not even a parking ticket. I don't see how it was in the public interest to take it to court. 'I was happy to sort it out of court and would have paid up front but I was not going to lie under oath and said I did it on purpose when I did not.' After proceedings finished, a spokesman for Wessex CPS said: 'It is not the Crown Prosecution Service's function to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a court to consider. 'In this case, we decided that there was sufficient evidence and that it was in the public interest to proceed. 'We previously sought to join this case with another involving the complainant and defendant but, ultimately, this was rejected by the court.' A spokesman for Dorset Police said: 'We will always carry out an investigation into reported criminal damage incidents irrespective of the type of damage alleged to have been caused. 'As part of an investigation, we will speak to all parties involved to gather the full circumstances of an incident. 'A case is then submitted to the CPS, who will then decide whether or not to bring a case before the courts.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Telegraph
Grandmother prosecuted after breaking neighbour's gnome
A grandmother was prosecuted for damaging her neighbour's garden gnome during a dispute over rights of access. Lorraine Hutton, 66, accidentally broke one of the legs off the 18in-ornament when she moved it from a communal pathway outside her flat in Springbourne, Bournemouth. Ms Hutton said she had apologised to owner Lilijana Cekauskiene and posted £20 through her letter box to cover the damage. But her neighbour insisted on calling the police. Ms Hutton was asked to attend a formal interview at a police station before being charged with criminal damage. She appeared in court three times, including for a three hour trial over the matter. The 15-month saga, which began in March 2024, concluded with Ms Hutton being found not guilty of criminal damage. She has now criticised both the police and CPS for allowing the matter to go to court and for wasting taxpayer money. Ms Hutton said: 'This has just been an enormous waste of time and public money. 'I have never been in trouble with the police in my life and for people of my generation to have to go to court is embarrassing. 'I wrote a letter of apology and gave her money to cover the damage. I could have been dealt with without all this expense to the taxpayer.' It is believed the case cost several thousands of pounds as Ms Hutton says she received legal aid and required a psychiatric assessment before going to court. A Lithuanian interpreter costing £55 an hour was required for Ms Cekauskiene. The CPS has insisted the case was in the public interest. Ms Hutton added: 'I am 66 and disabled. I have no previous convictions, not even a parking ticket. I don't see how it was in the public interest to take it to court. 'I was happy to sort it out of court and would have paid up front but I was not going to lie under oath and said I did it on purpose when I did not.' After proceedings finished, a spokesman for Wessex CPS said: 'It is not the Crown Prosecution Service's function to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a court to consider. 'In this case, we decided that there was sufficient evidence and that it was in the public interest to proceed. 'We previously sought to join this case with another involving the complainant and defendant but, ultimately, this was rejected by the court.' A spokesman for Dorset Police said: 'We will always carry out an investigation into reported criminal damage incidents irrespective of the type of damage alleged to have been caused. 'As part of an investigation, we will speak to all parties involved to gather the full circumstances of an incident. 'A case is then submitted to the CPS, who will then decide whether or not to bring a case before the courts.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Taxpayer foots huge bill to prosecute 66-year-old grandmother for accidentally smashing the leg off a neighbour's garden gnome... that she'd already tried to pay for
A neighbourly feud involving a damaged garden gnome resulted in a 15-month legal ordeal for a law-abiding grandmother. Lorraine Hutton branded the draconian saga 'an enormous waste of time and public money', after being accused of deliberately damaging the 18-inch ceramic ornament. Mrs Hutton, 66, admitted she had accidentally broken off one of the gnome's legs while moving it from a communal pathway outside her flat in Bournemouth, and said she had already apologised to its owner, Lilijana Cekauskiene. She also said she posted £20 through her neighbour's letterbox to cover the damage. But Mrs Hutton was horrified when Mrs Cekauskiene reported the damage to Dorset Police and accused her of breaking the gnome 'provocatively'. The 66-year-old was then ordered to attend a police station for interview and formally charged with criminal damage. A convoluted court saga followed, which is thought to have cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds – including £4,000 to pay for Mrs Hutton's legal aid, £1,000 for her psychiatric evaluation, a £55-per-hour Lithuanian interpreter for Mrs Cekauskiene and magistrates' court costs, which can be upwards of £1,000 a day. Fifteen months and three court dates later, and Mrs Hutton has been formally exonerated of any crime – and she criticised the police and the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) for wasting taxpayers' cash by allowing the case to go to court. 'This has just been an enormous waste of time and public money,' she said. 'We have been to court three or four times for this case. I have never been in trouble with the police in my life, not even a parking ticket, and for people of my generation to have to go to court is embarrassing. 'I'm 66 and disabled. I don't see how it was in the public interest to take it to court.' Official statistics show that Bournemouth had the worst crime rate in the south-west of England in 2024. Crimes involving possessing an offensive weapon were up 22.9 per cent and shoplifting offences rose by 5.5 per cent. Meanwhile, in 2022/23, 77 per cent of burglaries went unresolved. But Wessex CPS, which brought the case against Mrs Hutton, insisted it was in the public interest. A spokesman said: 'In this case, we decided that there was sufficient evidence and that it was in the public interest to proceed.' A spokesman for Dorset Police added: 'We will always carry out an investigation into reported criminal damage incidents irrespective of the type of damage alleged to have been caused. A case is then submitted to the CPS, who will then decide whether or not to bring a case before the courts.'
