Men tagged for harassing neighbour granted two-week holiday

A woman hounded by her neighbours has hit out after the men were allowed to have a break from their tag to go on holiday.

Frances Nixon, 74, suffered at the hands of Paul Nelson and Paul McGowan for four years in Glasgow's Jordanhill.

The pair - aged 61 and 40 - monitored her from the flat above hers and subjected her to excessive noise.

Frances claimed she was referred to as a "wicked witch" and played the song from the Wizard of Oz for her after making a complaint to the housing association.

She was also forced to change her lifestyle in fear of McGowan and Nelson.

The pair were found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of engaging in a court of conduct which caused Frances and other neighbour Julie McDonald fear and alarm.

McGowan was ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work while Nelson was made to pay £500 in compensation to both victims.

"Galivanting"

Sheriff Gerard Considine also tagged them for seven months keeping them indoors between 9pm and 6am.

But, the pair will be allowed a two-week break in October to go on holiday to Lanzarote.

They are also given permission for time off this summer to visit a caravan park.

Frances stated after the sentencing that she was in "utter disbelief" at the decision.

She also referred to the men jetting off on holiday as "galivanting" and believed they "manipulated the proceedings."

During the trial, jurors heard from University of Glasgow invigilator Frances who stated that she was neighbourly with the pair when they moved in.

She quickly learned that the men did not want to live in the area and referred to it as "Jordan hell."

Frances stated that Nelson and McGowan made her life "unbearable" by playing loud music and were "shouting and bawling."

The victim - who lived alone - was too afraid to confront the pair and reported them to the GHA.

"All hell broke loose"

Francis claimed that matters escalated after McGowan and Nelson wrongly believed that she contacted the police.

She said: “When I was coming home, they would always be there - Mr McGowan would hang over the balcony."

Frances stated that after six gruelling months, she did contact the police and "all hell broke loose."

She said: “I could hear it in the garden or coming up the road that ‘the witch was coming’.

“They had a record of Wizard of Oz song Wicked Witch of the West which was played at full volume a couple of times in the garden and when coming up the road.”

McGowan would later claim that he played the song on the day that Margaret Thatcher died.

The men also posted insults on social media about Frances and falsely accused her of assaulting McGowan.

Living in fear

CCTV was installed in her property by the GHA for Frances' "safety."

She said: “I changed my life to be safe and not be in constant fear."

Frances however was reported to the GHA by the pair which even prompted visits from neighbourhood officer Basharat Sadiq, 55.

He claimed that he was subjected to comments and recorded by the pair but the charge concerning him was removed mid-trial.

Allegations that McGowan and Nelson also recorded Frances were deleted by the jury.

McGowan and Nelson were put on probation by the GHA and moved out of the flat in Jordanhill to Knightswood in a flat below Julie McDonald.

There were initially no incidents between them but the pair went on to make complaints to the GHA and the police about her.

Jurors heard that a total of 47 complaints were made about Julie with only two that required minor action.

The men repeatedly shouted at Julie and her two children from their balcony and accused her of "having sex with several different men."

Prosecutor Carrie Stevens stated in her closing speech that the pair "started filming them and this was another example of McGowan and Nelson trying to intimidate her."

A police officer claimed to have found microphones leading through their ceiling and under Julie's floorboards.

The jury deleted allegations of the microphones from their verdict.

The men - who were former pub managers - told jurors in their evidence that they were the victims and had suffered homophobia.

The claims, jurors heard, were unfounded by the police.

McGowan stated that there was a "conspiracy" and that Frances and the GHA were working against them.

Both denied being verbally abusive to Frances but McGowan referred to her as a "hyena and a slob" when giving his evidence.

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