A racist father subjected his neighbours to a campaign of “obsessive” harassment, including encouraging his children to urinate on their car.
Martina Chapman-Clegg and her family were evicted from their home in East Malling, Kent, amid fears of their ‘nightmare’ neighbour Michael Atkinson.
Atkinson subjected them to an “obsessive” tirade of abuse, including encouraging his own three children to urinate on their car and cheering them on when they did so, the court heard.
He also subjected Mrs Chapman-Clegg to threats of violence and highly offensive insults – some of which were caught on camera.
The harassment by the father of three, who has 183 offences to his name, continued ‘relentlessly’, forcing the family to move from their beloved home.
Michael Atkinson (pictured) has been sentenced to 27 weeks in prison and a five-year ban on contact with his former neighbours.
Martina Chapman-Clegg (right) and her partner Andy (left) were evicted from their home in East Malling, Kent amid fears of their ‘nightmare’ neighbour Michael Atkinson
Mrs Chapman-Clegg said police officers advised her to leave the home in East Malling, Kent, where she had lived for 11 years.
The municipality arranged for the family to stay in temporary accommodation for seven months until new, permanent accommodation became available.
Although they now live at a different address, Mrs Chapman-Clegg admits she obsessively locks her front doors and windows and her children still suffer from nightmares.
Atkinson, from East Malling, Kent, initially denied the offences when he appeared at the police court.
However, when his case went to the Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to racial harassment between February 19 and March 3, 2023.
Last week he was sentenced to 27 weeks in prison at Maidstone Crown Court and given a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting his former neighbours.
Mrs Chapman-Clegg, 40, said: ‘We were so happy and content then and then he came and completely destroyed our lives. We were effectively left homeless.
‘It was almost an obsession. He was obsessed with bullying us as a family.
‘It had a huge impact on me, whether it was the confidence that I could safely go to the store with my family or the fact that I had to constantly look over my shoulder.
‘You read about it in the news, about hellish neighbours, but you don’t expect to ever experience it, and then on such a continuous scale as it was.
‘The actions that were carried out, such as having to watch someone urinate on your car and the constant threats, night after night, it was just relentless.
“It has had a huge impact on us as a family. We may have moved, but we still lock our front door and windows.”
In a clip played during the hearing, Ms Chapman-Clegg was standing at her door when the 37-year-old launched his tirade, first over a garden gate and then over a hedge dividing the two properties.
Screaming and swearing, he threatened the mother, saying: ‘I’ll smash your fucking head in, I’ll stomp on your fucking head and on your slutty property’, before using a crude racist insult.
Another clip showed the foul-mouthed builder walking straight up to Mrs Chapman-Clegg before returning to the property line to continue his tirade, which included a racist comment about sexual relations with black men.
In a clip played during the sentencing hearing, Atkinson (pictured) launched his tirade, first about a garden fence and then about a hedge dividing the two properties
Prosecutor Trevor Wright told the court: ‘There was a lot of shouting and a lot of words used… Other images were much the same and showed intimidating behaviour – Atkinson ordering his son to urinate on the car and then cheering him on after he had done so.
‘There was a further instance where Atkinson was offensive to the camera and used the word nonce,’ Mr Wright added. ‘These are just examples of the way in which the defendant behaved and was provocative, particularly towards Ms Chapman-Clegg.’
Mrs Chapman-Clegg wrote a victim impact statement which she read to the court, in which she described how ‘devastating and damaging’ Atkinson’s bullying had been to her and her family.
She also explained that it “broke her heart” that people were being subjected to “disgusting and vulgar insults” simply because of their race.
The court was also told that during the family’s 999 call one of their children was screaming in fear and was still suffering from nightmares.
Atkinson, who has been diagnosed with ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome, depression and anxiety disorders, is said to have broken the law every year of his life since he was 16.
He has several offences to his name, including threatening behaviour, harassment, intimidation, assault and battery.
The court also heard that Atkinson was born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
The 37-year-old man also struggles with a number of family problems: he does not know who his father is and his mother was murdered when he was only ten years old.
Atkinson said the system failed him and his criminal activities began at the age of 16 as a “cry for help”.
His lawyer told the hearing that the recovering alcoholic, who had been sober for 18 months, wanted her to apologize on his behalf for his behavior, much of which occurred while he had been drinking.
“I have been instructed to say very little about the offence itself because he understands that, regardless of the provocation or the upset between the parties, it was unacceptable,” said Donna Longcroft.
“As for the racial element, he’s asking me to apologize on his behalf. That language is not the language he would normally use.
“He accepts that the way he reacted was wrong and that he should have responded to his emotions in a completely different way. Maybe he could have done that without the alcohol.”
Mrs Longcroft added that his time in prison had been ‘fruitful’ in terms of gaining qualifications and that, with his marriage having failed, he plans to live with his uncle in Ashford after his release.
“In short, he has put his hands up, taken steps to change his behavior and change his lifestyle,” the lawyer said.
Screaming and swearing, Atkinson (pictured) threatened the mother, saying: ‘I’ll smash your f*cking head in, I’ll stomp on your f*cking head’
Passing sentence, registrar James Dawes KC said his abuse had been “most disgraceful” and had had “significant consequences”.
“You lose something of yourself, because something in you is diminished when you insult someone in such a way,” the judge explained.
“You shouldn’t do it, you know you shouldn’t do it, and if you need any incentive not to do it, then every time you do it something inside you dies.”
‘But the effect on someone else can be great, because there is a fear that he or she will be attacked. Not because he or she has done something wrong, but simply because of the way he or she looks. And that is a serious matter.
“If that was said to you and you had that fear, you would be just as upset. And if you think bad things have happened to you, you’re just making those bad things worse by doing it to someone else.”
‘But you continued for a few days and you encouraged your children to pee on their car.
‘Your threats of violence included headbutting her (Ms Chapman-Clegg’s) partner and you continued to insult them day in, day out.’
The clerk added that while Atkinson had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was to be “congratulated” on his sobriety, the mitigating circumstances did not outweigh the aggravating circumstances in the case.
The appropriate sentence could therefore only be achieved by means of an immediate prison sentence of 27 weeks.
Atkinson, who was the subject of a ‘Search Appeal’ by Kent Police earlier this year in relation to a warrant and harassment, is currently serving 120 days for breaching a suspended sentence imposed for an unrelated driving offence.
As he was led off the scaffolding, he was heard saying, “Money, money, money.”
The Chapman-Cleggs, who sat in the public gallery throughout the hearing, were praised by the judge for their courage in their presence in court.
Mrs Chapman-Clegg told KentOnline afterwards that she feels her family have finally received the justice they deserve.
Atkinson appeared at Maidstone Crown Court last week (pictured). The Chapman-Cleggs sat in the public gallery for the entire hearing
She added: ‘It’s been horrible for the children. They’re traumatised and we’re trying to reassure them that it’s OK now and we’re safe now.
‘It’s still hard to talk about. He’s been convicted, which he deserves, but the long-term effects of that fear have had a huge impact on our mental health as a family.
‘Hopefully with time, and now that we have a five-year restraining order, it will eventually go away.
“For us, the restraining order is the most important, so that we have that certainty for a long time. It’s really important for us as a family to have that.
“You can trust the justice system to do the right thing. We put ourselves in the spotlight so our children can see that we can stand up to bullies and racists.”