A company boss throttled his neighbour and damaged his expensive Jaguar car during an altercation over a ‘very messy’ long-running shared driveway dispute, a court has heard.
Trevor Hollisey, 72, who owns a kitchen fitting business with his wife Jennifer, 79, is accused of grabbing Neil Ford by the throat ‘for ten to 15 seconds’ and assaulting his wife, Michelle.
He is also charged with causing more than £1,300 of damage to a Jaguar F-PACE belonging to his next-door neighbours.
Mrs Hollisey, is accused of assaulting Mr Ford and his 20-year-old daughter, Sophie, as well as causing £3.99 damage to Sophie’s phone screen protector.
The Holliseys bought their detached home, Highfield House, in the Norfolk village of Bressingham for £540,000 in March 2021, while the Fords moved into their £672,000 home, Copper Dene, six months later.
Prosecutor Katherine Newson said the couples had subsequently fallen out in a ‘dispute over access to their driveway’.
She told magistrates in Norwich that the disagreement centred around the alleged victims opening the gate onto the defendants’ section of the driveway.
Previously, there had been complaints to the police about the ‘paving being smashed’.
Trevor Hollisey, 72, and his wife Jennifer, 79, are accused of becoming involved in an altercation with their neighbours
The scene of the dispute between the Holliseys’ and their neighbours in the Norfolk village of Bressingham
Matters allegedly came to a head on December 30 last year when Hollisey grabbed Mr Ford by the throat ‘for ten to 15 seconds’ and assaulted his wife.
He is also accused of deliberately damaging the luxury Jaguar, causing £1,363 of damage.
Hollisey denies the criminal damage charge and a count of assault by beating against Mrs Ford.
No plea was entered for the charge of intentional strangulation during the hearing on Friday.
His wife denied two assault by beating charges involving Mr Ford and his daughter and the Crown Prosecution Service withdrew a count of common assault against the pair.
She also pleaded not guilty to damaging the screen protector on Sophie’s phone.
Declan Gallagher, defending the Holliseys, said the ‘confrontation’ was the result of a ‘long-term dispute’ and that ‘there is a very messy history to this’.
The Holliseys bought their detached home in the Norfolk village of Bressingham for £540,000 in March 2021, while the Fords moved into their £672,000 home six months later.
The Holliseys, pictured at a function, deny assault and criminal damage charges. Mr Hollisey entered no plea in relation to a count of intentional strangulation
Scene of the dispute: the Holliseys live in Highfield House (middle property), while their alleged victims, Neil and Michelle Ford, own Copper Dene (behind fence on right)
When magistrates starting looking for dates to hold a trial, Mr Hollisey interjected and said he and his wife ‘have several holidays booked this year and next’.
The Bench eventually decided that the case would be heard at Ipswich Magistrates Court on March 10 and 11 next year.
The Holliseys were released on conditional bail and told they must have no contact with their neighbours.
Mr Hollisey set up Ultimate Choice Bathrooms and Kitchens in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, in 1987, where there is still a showroom.
The company’s website says he now works alongside his son Lee.
It adds: ‘The driving force behind our success for the last 36 years is Trevor’s and Lee’s high standards and demand for excellent workmanship on every installation.’
