A nightmare neighbour has been jailed for more than three years after terrorising a couple living above her – after her abuse was captured through their Ringo doorbell.
Drina Gray, 52, harassed the two victims in Wandsworth, south-west London, ‘morning, noon and night’, a judge said.
The couple named as Ben and Emma, who did not want to give their surnames, first moved there in 2022 – followed by council tenant Gray who then occupied an apartment below in April the next year.
Ben, 32, initially reported Gray to local officials for kicking her dog – which he said was captured on CCTV cameras.
Gray then launched into what was described in court as a ‘relentless’ campaign against the couple, which they said left them prisoners in their own home.
Ben told how Gray smashed two Ring doorbells in less than a year, issued regular chilling threats via cameras and allowed her dog to foul their doorstep.
The product manager even lost his job at a start-up company while suffering from a lack of sleep blamed on Gray blasting loud music from her home and vacuuming a communal hallway in the early hours of the morning.
A series of videos captured by Ben’s Ring doorbell cameras show Gray shouting, swearing and threatening him.
Drina Gray, 52, has been jailed for 40 months after harassing neighbours in south-west London
Drina Gray was captured on Ring doorbell footage verbally abusing her neighbours Ben and Emma, even smashing their doorbells during the relentless two-year tirade
Ben and Emma say they had reported the incidents to police on countless occasions, and action was only finally taken after they compiled a dossier of more than 200 incidents
After Gray was finally prosecuted for her campaign of hate and a judge ordered her into custody, she escaped from court and went on the run for weeks.
She claimed that Ben had been using her as ‘bait’ to make his 31-year-old partner Emma, who also lives at the apartment, feel jealous after a break-up.
But now as he jailed Gray for 40 months, Judge Peter Lodder told her she had harassed the couple ‘morning, noon and night’.
Addressing her at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court, he said: ‘You made the lives of your neighbours hell. You persistently harassed them morning, noon and night.
‘Despite orders being obtained to seek to prevent you from behaving in the way you did, you continued in your campaign.
‘It may well be that you were under the influence of alcohol, but that is not an excuse – it’s an aggravation.
‘It’s no consolation at all to the people you were threatening with extreme violence.
‘This was over a period of six months. You well knew what you were doing.’
Pictured: Another occasion on which Gray walked up to the camera to shout abuse. She broke bail conditions and went missing, but has now been jailed for more than three years
Pictured: Gray storming towards Ben and Emma’s doorbell. During the course of two years after she moved in in April 2023, she made death threats and told them she would ‘shoot’ them
Gray can be seen through the window trespassing in her neighbour’s garden. Ben said that when he tried to have a barbecue last year she lit a ‘gigantic bonfire’ in the garden
The judge sentenced Gray to 40 months behind bars after she admitted charges of harassment intended to put in fear of violence, two charges of criminal damage relating to doorbell cameras she smashed and a public order offence of using threatening words and behaviour towards Ben.
A further charge of failing to comply with a community protection notice was dealt with by way of a two-year conditional discharge at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in June.
Ben, who says he recorded 140 separate incidents of harassment over 18 months, has complained previously of the way Gray’s case was dealt with by the authorities – including by the Metropolitan Police, Wandsworth Council and court services.
He has alleged that when Gray once threatened to ‘shoot’ him and his partner, who works in marketing, police took 13 hours to respond.
Court cases involving Gray were adjourned multiple times before she was finally sentenced for her offending.
Prosecutor Dylan Bub, outlining the facts of the case, has now told the court: ‘Since the defendant moved into her property, she engaged in a campaign of harassment.’
Mr Bub explained that, while the first year passed without incident, Ben installed cameras at his property after Gray stole two parcels from outside his door.
He said Gray broke the first of two Ring doorbell cameras – costing £100 each – in May last year by punching it ‘repeatedly’.
Gray, who lived below the couple in their Wandsworth flat, seen showing her middle fingers up
Mr Bub told the court that after Ben reported Gray’s harassment to police, she continued to make threats – including once threatening to burn his house down.
The lawyer described how Gray said, “It’s not me you have to worry about, it’s Chris – we need a nice fire, don’t we?”
Gray was issued a community protection notice later in the summer, which the court heard she broke that same day.
Once arrested and charged, Gray’s case dragged through the courts, being adjourned multiple times for a variety of reasons.
On one occasion, Gray absconded from court after the case was adjourned, prompting a desperate police search and a warrant for her arrest.
But after she was eventually caught and brought before a crown court judge, the prosecutor said ‘no evidence’ had been provided by police and the charge was dropped.
Ben told Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court that Gray’s abusive campaign had left him feeling ’embarrassed, humiliated, numb’ and even ‘suicidal’.
In his witness statement, written last December, he said: ‘To put it simply, this situation has completely taken over my life.
Another occasion on which Gray was captured on doorbell footage showing her middle finger
‘What should have been a happy and exciting time for me – owning and living in my first home – has turned into a living nightmare.
‘I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore and live in a state of numbness caused by anxiety and depression.
‘Instead of being a place where I can relax and unwind, it’s a place where I’m constantly on edge, waiting for the next abusive episode from Miss Gray.
‘Every day I feel trapped, knowing she’s right below me, ready to scream abuse at me, make threats and continuously taunt me and my partner.
‘Her threats towards me are terrifying. She regularly shouts that people are waiting to “break my legs” or “cut my throat”.’
He described how the outbursts would ‘come out of nowhere, completely unprovoked’ before leaving him ‘shaken and scared’ and prompted to call the police ‘multiple times’ while afraid to leave his home.
Ben added: ‘I can’t remember the last time I felt at ease – many days I’ve just felt hopeless and numb.
‘I have become very withdrawn and stopped doing the things I used to enjoy because I’ve lost the energy and motivation.
Pictured: A Reiss label that the couple claim was left cut out from their order which was found under the stairs in a Lidl bag
‘My family has noticed a huge change in my personality. The situation has even impacted my relationship with my partner.
‘In the summer of 2024, things became so unbearable that I’d avoid coming home altogether and stay with friends.
‘At night, I now have to wear earplugs and turn on a fan just to try and drown out the noise of shouting, swearing and non-stop abuse.’
He described himself as being sleep-deprived due to Gray’s ‘shouting and abusive behaviour’, saying that this ‘eventually ended up in me losing my job’.
He went on to tell the court: ‘Thankfully, I’ve managed to find a new job with understanding employers, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still dealing with this nightmare every day.
‘The stress and lack of sleep leave me physically drained all the time. I feel embarrassed and stuck.
‘I feel like I have no way out, which has led to suicidal thoughts before I was taking my medication.
‘This situation has left me feeling broken – mentally, physically and emotionally. I feel like my life has been on pause for 18 months because of Miss Gray’s actions.
Ben had installed cameras after finding a mail order parcel of clothes under the stairs opened with labels cut out
‘I’ve lost my peace of mind, my health, my job, and even the ability to enjoy my home. I just want to feel safe and normal again.’
After reading the same impact statement at a magistrates’ court appearance earlier this month, Ben added that he and his partner had been ‘failed’ by every authority – and that he had ‘lost complete faith in all of the public services that are there to protect us’.
Gray read a personal letter to the judge out in court, in which she apologised for her actions but also claimed Ben had used her as ‘bait’ to make his partner ‘jealous’.
Her defence advocate Tammy Sher also told the court several car accidents had driven her to alcohol and that she too had suffered from suicidal thoughts.
But Judge Lodder said Gray ‘deserved’ her sentence, telling her: ‘You were given many a warning. You chose to ignore these warnings and breach the notices that were served upon you.
‘You have 18 convictions for 40 offences. Your offending has been aggravated by alcohol. In my view, you deserve a sentence of 40 months’ imprisonment.’
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Service said: ‘Drina Gray conducted herself appallingly, and we extend our sympathies to her victim, who endured an unrelenting campaign of harassment.
‘The defendant admitted to numerous offences – including harassment and criminal damage – following a Met investigation. She awaits sentencing for these.
The CCTV cameras captured Drina Gray taking her dog upstairs to foul the couple’s doorstep
‘Adjournments in case hearings are at the discretion of the courts. A charge of escaping from court on Wednesday, 26 March, was initially brought against Gray by the Met. However, this was later discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service.’
Cllr Aydin Dikerdem, Wandsworth Borough Council cabinet member for housing, has accepted the authority could have acted faster following Ben’s serious complaints about his neighbour.
He said: ‘Wandsworth Council takes crime and anti-social behaviour very seriously and we work with partners to both support residents and to take the appropriate action against those responsible.
‘This is a complex case where housing officers have been working closely with a number of different agencies, including the police, to resolve the matter.
‘An ASB case review was completed and recommendations were made, with the community safety team engaging with the affected neighbours.
‘Following the recent criminal hearing, the Council have obtained an injunction to prevent this individual returning to the property and we are continuing to seek possession of this property.
‘We accept that we could have acted more swiftly and following this case changes are being made to our ASB case management system to ensure the appropriate actions are taken more promptly and that complainants are kept updated.
‘Council officers have met with the individuals affected to discuss what further support could be provided.’
