County Derry man who stuck up middle fingers at neighbour convicted of harassment

A man who stuck up the middle fingers to his neighbour on three separate occasions, has been convicted of harassment by a local court.

Colin Doherty, of Riverside Cottages in Ballykelly, appeared before Limavady Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with harassment.

The court heard that on dates between July 14 2022 and September 2 2022, the 40 year-old pursued a course of conduct which amounted to the harassment of his neighbour.

The injured party in the case contacted police and claimed that he was being harassed by Doherty, who lived in the same housing development as him.

The man said he had known Doherty for ten years however he claimed that there had been ongoing issues for the last four years.

The man stated that in mid-July Doherty had made a V gesture to him.

The neighbour said several days later Doherty stuck the middle finger up to him as he drove past. The court heard that this incident was captured on dash cam.

On a third occasion, the man alleged that Doherty had shouted 'pervert' to him as he passed him on the street. This was recorded on CCTV, the court heard.

The complainant also said as he was driving along Main Street in Ballykelly, he observed Doherty driving past him and sticking up the middle fingers. The victim was accompanied by his young daughter at the time.

A solicitor told the court that Doherty accepts that his behaviour was 'childish'.

She said all the incidents were 'chance encounters' and added that Doherty is currently in the process of moving to a new house eight miles away.

District Judge Peter King told Doherty that he was 'delighted' he was moving away and 'putting some distance between yourself and the injured party'.

Judge King fined Doherty £450 for the offence and imposed a restraining order for two years.

In addition, he re-suspended a suspended sentence, which Doherty had breached, for a further two years.