A LANDOWNER who used barbed wire and chains to stop ramblers using a public path has appeared in court and denied new charges.
Frances Payne faces three breaches of a criminal behaviour order (CBO), three charges of assault by beating, and using threatening, abusive, insulting words, and behaviour to cause harassment alarm or distress.
Frances Payne, owner of Hampton Mill in Evesham, put up fencing in April last year after claiming she was assaulted and abused near her own home.
As we previously reported the 56-year-old was given the CBO which prohibits her from being abusive or aggressive to any member of the public using the footpath at the beauty spot.
All the offences are alleged to have taken place this year.
The breach of the order is alleged to have taken place on June 1 and one of the assaults is also alleged to have taken place on that date.
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The other two alleged assaults are said by the prosecution to have taken place on June 23.
Some of those she is accused of assaulting are children.
Payne appeared in Courtroom 2 at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on Monday, November 7, and denied all the charges.
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District judge Ian Strongman told Payne to attend the next hearing of the case at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday, December 6.
Mark Hambling prosecuted the case, Mr Khan defended Payne during the short hearing.
Sentencing her in February, District Judge Ian Strongman said: "I am going to put you under a Criminal Behaviour Order for five years, so you don't interfere with the public footpath."
In a previous interview with this paper she described “constant” problems such as people taking drugs, assaults, thefts and vandalism and said she had sought to permanently reroute the path.
However, despite insisting she was acting to stop trespassers, she was hit by a succession of community protection notices to prevent her from blocking the path which runs around the borders of her property.
Payne also featured in an edition of Channel 5’s The Nightmare Neighbour Nextdoor.
In that programme, she blamed the issues with the development of new housing which runs alongside Corn Mill Road, Hampton, the road access to the mill from Cheltenham Road.
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