A PENSIONER who ‘made life miserable’ for a woman undergoing treatment for cancer with a campaign of harassment has been found ‘not guilty’ of breaching a restraining order.

Jeanette Rispin, 78, is the subject of a two-year court order banning her from speaking to the woman and her family for two years.

It was imposed in September after magistrates heard she stared at the couple next-door through gaps she had made in a garden wall, flooded their garage with a hosepipe, put dead flowers in a row between their gardens and shouted abuse at them.

On Tuesday, magistrates sitting at Peterlee heard Rispin, of York Terrace, Chester-le-Street, was accused of breaching the order by speaking to the victim’s brother.

She allegedly said ‘Look who the hell is coming over now’ as he walked up the drive to help his sister move a rug.

Rispin denied a single charge of breaching the restraining order, claiming she was speaking to her daughter, and stood trial.

CCTV footage was played but the audio quality and angle of the camera meant shots were not sufficient to prove she was guilty of a breach ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ and she was acquitted.