A CANTANKEROUS pensioner who waged a 40-year vendetta on neighbours whose homes did not match his idea of house-proud perfection was jailed for three months yesterday.

Retired bookmaker John Bushell, 75, was locked up after a court heard how he plagued the lives of families who he considered failed to keep their homes up to scratch.

Bushell heaped abuse on those neighbours living near his £80,000 detached house and immaculate garden, accusing them of letting standards slip.

Since 1960, when he moved into the quiet cul-de-sac of Mill Crescent, Hebburn, South Tyneside, he harassed neighbours over the appearance of their properties.

He accused Archibald Allan and his late wife, Dorothy, of neglecting their home and garden, and subjected Marjorie Mills and husband Ken, both 55, to vandalism and intimidation.

Over the years, Bushell made his neighbours' lives miserable by:

Painting a whitewashed wall black out of spite.

Tipping rubbish into other gardens.

Arranging guttering so rainwater emptied into his neighbours' properties.

Chasing 82-year-old Mr Allan around the streets of the cul-de-sac with a shovel when he objected to Bushell building a wall that would block the view from his window.

Haranguing the local paperboy if he was late.

Following four decades of hell, his neighbours got a restraining order under new anti-stalking laws.

Bushell admitted three charges of harassment last month and returned to Newcastle Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced.

Judge Richard Lowden told him: "Your neighbours have a right to live in peace and you have not granted them this."

Bushell hung his head as he was sentenced and led quietly from the dock.

Neighbour Marjorie Mills said afterwards: "It is absolutely fantastic. We have waited 30 years for this. It is definitely justified.

"This has just been an absolute nightmare.

"We moved into this neighbourhood 30 years ago and there has never been a moment of peace.