A WOMAN who threw a broken plant pot at her neighbour’s head has been given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Deborah Rimmer wept in the dock at Teesside Crown Court as Judge James Brown likened a dispute with her next-door neighbour in Skelton, east Cleveland, to a “childish argument you would expect in a playground”.

The 48-year-old suspected the victim of petty acts of harassment including moving items about in her garden and blocking her drive.

Prosecutor Emma Atkinson said: “It has not exactly been plain sailing [with the neighbour] and there has been a number of incidents in the past.”

She said the complainant had CCTV installed at his home and discovered a cup had been smashed against a gate and plant pots pushed off a wall.

There was a confrontation between the pair and Rimmer threw a broken piece of plant pot at the victim, causing a laceration to his head and swelling to the scalp.

Judge Brown was shown the CCTV footage and said: “The video speaks for itself. Nobody comes out of that episode particularly well.”

Rimmer, who has now moved to Silver Street, in Whitby, admitted a wounding offence on November 23 and expressed her shame and remorse.

The court heard how she was unemployed and being supported by her parents, having split from her husband.

She now hoped to open a shop in the seaside resort.

The judge said he did not think Rimmer intended to injure the victim, but she had been reckless in throwing the object.

Imposing a 12-month conditional discharge, he also said he did not think it was an appropriate case for compensation and it was unrealistic to ask Rimmer to pay the court costs.