- Joanne Shreeves, 52, caused damage to Trevor Dempsey’s property
The daughter of former Tottenham manager Peter Shreeves is facing arrest after she failed to attend court for not paying compensation to the neighbour she terrorised.
Joanne Shreeves, 52, caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to Trevor Dempsey’s property, including fence, garden flowers and a custom-built potting shed.
Footage captured from cameras belonging to Mr Dempsey, 62, and his former partner Sandra Durdin, 58, appears to show Shreeves spitting at her neighbours and laughing.
Shreeves shakes the fence between the properties in The Ridgeway, Chingford, east London, snarling: ‘You’re a dirty c**t, you are. A f*****g dirty c**t. You know what happens to dirty c**ts?’
Shreeves was convicted of common assault, causing criminal damage and one of threatening behaviour following a trial at Stratford Magistrates’ Court last March.
She was sentenced to a 12 month community order and ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activity.
Shreeves was also ordered to pay £4,000 in compensation to Mr Dempsey and handed a two year restraining order, meaning that she cannot contact any of the complainants either directly or indirectly.
But she has paid just £720 in £80 increments leaving £3,280 outstanding.
She contacted a court office on 26 September last year and said she would call back with further information, but then failed to do so.
Shreeves was ordered to appear at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court today but failed to show up and a magistrate issued a warrant for her arrest.
During her trial last year, Mr Dempsey had told the court his neighbour was like a ‘person possessed’ when she threw boulders over his fence on 24 October 2020.
‘There was a big crunch – she went berserk,’ he said.
‘She went to her garage, took out her shovel and shovelled out what we put in and threw it over the top of the fence and actually hit me.
‘You could see her throwing boulders over the fence throwing stuff at the house and windows.
‘She was like a person possessed, she was a person possessed.’
Shreeves then tried to destroy her neighbours’ CCTV cameras using a hose.
Mr Dempsey called police but Shreeves made a follow-up call cancelling the request for officers to come to the scene.
CCTV footage showed Shreeves walking up and down the garden with a large broom, poking it over the garden fence.
Shreeves was also shown snipping off tape on the fence that read ‘Keep Out’.
Ms Durdin had told the court how Shreeves waged war against her in their suburban street in Chingford, where the mock Tudor houses fetch £1million.
On another occasion Ms Durdin said she heard some noise and looked out of the window to see Shreeves looking at her.
She said Shreeves called her a ‘dirty c**t’ and she replied: ‘So are you.’
Ms Durdin added: ‘She turns around, makes a slit throat (gesture), and goes “you’re dead” “you’re dead” whilst we were in our own house.’
Her son Mitchell Durdin told the court he was left feeling humiliated after Shreeves spat at him.
‘It was during the Covid pandemic and there was no vaccine, I was terrified,’ he said.
Shreeves was previously convicted of common assault in relation to Mitchell and criminal damage in respect of a shed, fence and garden flowers to the value of £440.
She was also convicted of threatening behaviour with intent in relation to the couple by a judge at Stratford Magistrates’ Court in May 2022.
Shreeves had failed to attend her trial due to illness but she has always claimed CCTV footage of her spitting and swearing had been doctored by her neighbours.
She was then granted a retrial by District Judge William Nelson in August 2022 after she successfully applied to reopen the case.
Shreeves was then found guilty of common assault, causing criminal damage and one of threatening behaviour following her second trial.
District Judge Nelson had ridiculed her claim that the CCTV film of her shot by her long suffering neighbours had been tampered with.
‘To suggest that the CCTV footage has been doctored in any way beggers belief,’ he said.
‘There is clearly an undisguised animosity between all the parties in this case.
‘I am satisfied the defendant threw a large number of objects over the fence.’
He had earlier berated Shreeves for being disruptive in the dock during his ruling and warned her to be careful.
Last November Peter Shreeves’ wife Carol, 80, admitted causing nearly £5,000 worth of damage to the kitchen of her former neighbours by spraying water inside using a hose.
Footage filmed by Mitchell Durdin showed water gushing through their kitchen door, causing damage to the flooring in November 2021.
Carol was issued with a police caution.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
