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Great-grandson of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, 53, was assaulted by neighbour, 83, who sprayed him in the face with WEEDKILLER after he accused him of dousing his plants at garden fence
- The great-grandson of author JRR Tolkien was sprayed with poison in his garden
- Film producer Royd Tolkien was hit in the face with weed-killer by his neighbour
- The 53-year-old was left with stinging eyes and blurred vision after the incident
- Neighbour Ivor Hopkins, 83, was given a 12 month conditional discharge
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The great-grandson of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien was sprayed with poison in his own garden in a bizarre ‘war of the weeds’ with his neighbour.
Film producer Royd Tolkien, 53, was hit in the face with weed-killer in a battle over the garden fence with 83-year-old Ivor Hopkins.
Mr Tolkien — who appeared in two of the Lord of the Rings films made by director Peter Jackson — was left with stinging eyes and blurred vision after the incident last year.
A court heard how the warring neighbours were locked in a battle over their gardens in a quiet country village in North Wales.
Prosecutor Neil Catherall said that Mr Tolkien was in his garden when he spotted Hopkins spraying weed killer on the boundary wall between their country homes.
Mr Tolkien decided to watch in case Hopkins ‘sprayed any of the liquid on his plants’.
Movie producer Royd Tolkien (pictured), 53, was hit in the face with weed-killer in a battle over the garden fence with 83-year-old Ivor Hopkins
He began recording on his phone when he believed his own plants had been hit with the poison.
Mr Catheall said: ‘He went over to the wall and as he pointed the camera up, Hopkins sprayed him with the liquid.’
Mr Catherall told the court Mr Tolkien was ‘shocked’ by what had happened, with the weed killer causing his left eye to sting and his vision to blur.
Hopkins offered no apology — but by the next day the injury was better. But Mr Tolkien then made his complaint to police.
Pensioner Hopkins told police he believed the wind must have caught some of the weed killer and caused it to spray on his neighbour.
He also insisted it had not been done on purpose.
Mr Tolkien appeared in two of the Lord of the Rings films made by director Peter Jackson. Pictured in 2012 at the premier for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Mr Tolkien wears the costume worn by Sir Ian McKellan in the Lord of the Rings films to welcome people onboard a flight to New Zealand as Gandalf. This was a bucket list challenge passed on by his late brother Mike, who died from motor neurone disease
Hopkins, of Sychdyn, North Wales, appeared at Mold magistrates on Friday where he was due to stand trial for assault.
But the court heard the 83-year-old had ‘a change of heart,’ instead admitting common assault against Mr Tolkien.
Simon Simmons, defending, told the court the incident had arisen against the background of a ‘long running dispute’ between the two neighbours.
He said that Mr Tolkien has many cameras on poles pointing at Hopkins’ property and that being filmed was ‘quite intimidating’ for his client.
Mr Simmons told the court the footage provided by Mr Tolkien shows him giving a ‘running commentary’ about how the liquid went on his arm and chest — but didn’t reflect any panic about his eyes.
Mr Tolkien was in his garden when he spotted Hopkins spraying weed killer on the boundary wall between their country homes. Pictured, the neighbours’ street
Mold Magistrates Court gave Hopkins a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £350 costs, as well as £22 in a victim surcharge. File image
‘He just wants this over and done with and to move on,’ Mr Simmons added.
The court gave Hopkins a 12 month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £350 costs, as well as £22 in a victim surcharge.
No compensation was awarded as it was felt this may ‘aggravate the situation.’
Mr Tolkien’s grandfather Michael Tolkien was the author’s second son. He was read the earliest versions of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings by his father as bedtime stories.
Mr Tolkien was four when his great-grandfather died in 1973, and cannot remember him, but is a fan of his works, having read his books multiple times.
‘I am as much in awe of Tolkien as anyone else,’ the 53-year-old previously aid. ‘I’m very humble about it. I’m just lucky enough to be related to the guy.’