THE son of England cricket legend Colin Cowdrey was “terrorised” by a nightmare neighbour – ruining the sale of his £3.85m home.
Jeremy Cowdrey, 65, was “blackmailed” by Vanessa Gibson, 55, over a strip of land on his sprawling estate in Goudhurst, Kent.
Mrs Gibson now faces a legal bill of more than half a million pounds after losing in court.
Film producer Jeremy, whose dad skippered England, sued his neighbour over “lies” which he said made his ten-acre country house unsellable.
The dispute began after she purchased a strip of land, which bizarrely meant she owned part of Mr Cowdrey’s tennis court.
It then escalated into what a judge found to be an attempt to extract “unreasonable sums” to enable the sale of his home to go through.
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At Central London County Court earlier this year, Judge Jane Evans-Gordon branded Mrs Gibson’s behaviour “unreasonable and oppressive.”
But the feuding neighbours were back in court last week when Mrs Gibson was ordered to pick up Mr Cowdrey’s lawyers’ bills for the row.
The judge told her to pay £360,000 up front – on top of the £159,000 she still owes him in compensation ordered at the end of the trial in July.
Appearing at court, Mrs Gibson was handed legally-binding “undertakings” about how and when she can contact Mr Cowdrey in future.
She was told she could end up in prison if she fails to behave herself and abide by the rules.
The court heard Mrs Gibson had lived in the area for many years, but Mr Cowdrey moved in after buying Crowbourne Farm in early 2022.
It is made up of a sprawling Grade II-listed farmhouse with its own wine cellar, a separate guest cottage, studio, barn and workshop.
The estate also features a quadruple car port and over ten acres of grounds, including a tennis court, stables, woods and two lakes.
Mr Cowdrey told the judge he had been pre-warned about the potential for trouble with his neighbour, who lives in a barn conversion next door.
However, the pair initially had a good “neighbourly” relationship, with Mrs Gibson helping the cricketer’s son feed his ducks.
However, within a couple of months of moving in, he realised the property was “not right” for him and decided to sell.
After a number of viewings, buyers were found with a sale price of £3.85m agreed – but they pulled out after a string of emails sent by Mrs Gibson.
The court heard there had previously been a dispute over ownership of the land which Mrs Gibson bought.
It was initially settled when Mr Cowdrey agreed to fence it off and give up any claim to it, but her emails suggested the row was ongoing.
She emailed him, his lawyer and estate agent with allegations relating to his right to run water, electricity, sewage and phone wires across her land.
Mrs Gibson brought up issues of flooding in the area, claiming it could be due to work done by the previous owners on Mr Cowdrey’s land.
Suing for malicious falsehood and harassment, Mr Cowdrey claimed his neighbour had “terrorised” him during the sale.
He likened her constant “clusterbomb” of complaints to water torture.
Speaking at the trial, he said: “I likened it to the Japanese drip of water because it was like that.
“We are on the third anniversary of this. It’s been a really horrendous experience.”
Mrs Gibson, representing herself, denied Mr Cowdrey’s claims and said she only raised legitimate issues about the property.
She also argued it was Mr Cowdrey who had behaved in an “ungentlemanly” way.
But finding for Mr Cowdrey in July, the judge said Mrs Gibson had tried to “conceal her intention…to interfere with Mr Cowdrey’s sale”.
Her allegations of “ongoing disputes” in relation to the tennis court, utility services and breaches of land covenants were “false”, the judge said.
She added: “Standing back and looking at Ms Gibson’s conduct… it seems to me that her actions were motivated by an improper purpose…
“… namely to cause harm, specifically pecuniary loss, to Mr Cowdrey by preventing him from selling Crowbourne Farm unless he paid her any price she sought.
“I am satisfied Ms Gibson concealed her purchase of the strip from Mr Cowdrey until she could use her ownership to extract significant payment from him.
“Ms Gibson was entitled to forward her own interests, which can include benefiting financially from her land and the covenants benefiting that land.
“But there comes a point where proper motivation tips over into an improper purpose. In my judgment, that point was reached in this case.”
At trial, Mr Cowdrey said his house would now be worth £3.7m and sued for the £150,000 difference following the lost £3.85m sale.
The judge agreed, adding: “In my judgment, the sum of £150,000, together with interest, is the correct measure of damages.”
Brooke Lyne, Jeremy’s barrister, argued Mrs Gibson should be made to pay his huge legal bills for the dispute, which she said ran well over £400,000.
The judge ruled Mrs Gibson would have to pay the costs, ordering her to shell out some of the money up front ahead of a full assessment.
She continued: “I’m going to make an order for payment on account in the sum of £300,000 – £360,000 including VAT.”
Jeremy is the second son of Lord Cowdrey, who was the first cricketer to play 100 Tests.
He was also the first to be made a peer for his services to the game.
Lord Cowdrey was an outstanding batsman, famed for his style and nonchalance both on and off the field.
His fellow players described him as an “unbridled genius” and a commentator remarked he seemed to “charm rather than strike the ball”.
