A NEIGHBOUR ‘violated’ a family for more than two years by playing loud recordings of monkey and chicken noises to wake them up, a court heard.

Ian Wheatcroft is accused of harassing his neighbours by putting faeces in their garden and setting off alarms during the middle of the night to wake them up.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard Wheatcroft also set up three CCTV cameras which captured the garden of his neighbours in Totton, causing them to avoid using it.

The 44-year-old also allegedly pointed an image of a cat making an obscene gesture at their garden to taunt them after they were forced to give up their pet.

The court heard Wheatcroft put dog urine and faeces in his neighbours’ garden and even fired up a garden incinerator on his balcony.

Wheatcroft denies harassment without violence and common assault.

Clive Jones, Wheatcroft’s neighbour in The Mallards, told the court: “We’ve been subjected to horrendous noises late at night. Chicken noises and monkey noises were common from 11 in the evening until 4am.

“On Christmas Day in 2013 there was two alarms set when he was not home, they were set for 12.15am and 4.15am in the morning when we were asleep.

“On the day I buried my dad we had them too at around the same time, the alarm was like an evacuation alarm noise.”

Mr Jones also said Wheatcroft taunted him by putting up an image of a cat making an obscene gesture.

He added: “He has put dog urine and faeces in our garden too. We don’t have a dog and nobody apart from us and him has access to the back of our garden to put it there.

“Although we use our garden and balcony, we don’t use it as much as we would like because we feel like there’s no privacy there. He’s violated us.”

A video played in court, taken from a mobile phone, showed Wheatcroft using an angle grinder close to Mr Jones’ car and smiling and waving at the camera.

Keely Harvey, defending Wheatcroft, said 47-year-old Mr Jones gave his neighbour “tit for tat” and would harass him back by also playing loud recordings of animals.

Ms Harvey, who said the beginning of the feud started with noise complaints, said: “You go tit for tat with him and make the situation worse.”

Mr Jones replied: “I strongly disagree, on a few occasions I’ve retaliated and given a bit back but on the whole I’ve held my constraint.”

Ms Harvey said Wheatcroft’s cameras were not set up to spy on Mr Jones and his family –- and even said he was “paranoid” to think they are filming him.

The court was also shown a video of Mr Jones, a senior director of a cruise firm, making abusive gestures at Wheatcroft’s CCTV cameras.