Banner protest couple given restraining order

A couple in Cornwall have been given a restraining order for putting up banners in their garden with pictures of their neighbours on them.

Courtney, 66, and Fiona Lytton, 60, were protesting about extensions overlooking their home near Penzance.

They pleaded not guilty to harassment.

Magistrates decided to dismiss the charges but placed restraining orders on the couple preventing them putting up any banners "designed or intended to harass" their neighbours.

In January, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported how Mr and Mrs Lytton had unsuccessfully fought against two planning applications in Tregarthen near Penzance in Cornwall since 2015.

They claimed Cornwall Council had not followed proper procedure in granting planning permission for the extensions which overlook their back garden and the large vinyl signs were in protest at local authority's handling of the situation.

The council said the correct procedure was followed in the planning process.

Using photographs they had taken of their neighbours using their extensions, they created what they said were "privacy banners".

In making the restraining order, the magistrates said: "You are people of previously good character. But you have lowered yourself in my view ... I have no doubt that it was extremely distressing but there are proper ways of dealing with it."

The couple were told that they were "mature" and should not have resorted to creating the banners.

The magistrate added: "The most important thing is that you learn to live with your neighbours properly."