An East Sussex couple have expressed their relief after a war with their neighbours spanning 11 years was finally dropped in court.
Nigel and Sheila Jacklyn from Bexhill-on-Sea appeared at Brighton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where they were told they were "free to go" after the prosecution failed to offer evidence against them.
The angry neighbours had previously accused the Jacklins of "staring" and "making hand gestures" towards their holiday home property, when in fact Sheila, who is of Indian heritage, was practicing Hindu prayer on the beach.
After spending tens of thousands of pounds fighting the neighbours, Nigel Jacklin told GB News the claims made against them were "completely ridiculous", and urged Sussex Police to "not come after us again".
Nigel and Sheila Jacklin were fighting their horror neighbours for 11 years before the charges were dropped by the court
GB News / Nigel Jacklin
Jacklin told host Martin Daubney: "We found out that the ban actually had no legal effect. We go to the beach sometimes, and I stand and sometimes face the house or look at my wife - they thought that we were staring at them.
"My wife is of Indian origin and does Hindu prayers, so she will do a Mudra with hand gestures. They interpreted that as being the indigenous gesture of contempt, as it were."
Highlighting the "pivotal moment" in the neighbour war, Jacklin recalled how Sussex Police became involved in the case, and they discovered that the "community protection warning letters" actually had "no legal standing".
Jacklin explained: "Back in 2018 and in 2019, my wife was charged with harassment by Hindu prayers, and one of the highest authorities in Hinduism in the UK appeared as an expert witness, testifying that she was doing her prayers. He agreed to do the same this year, but it's just completely ridiculous.
Nigel and Sheila Jacklin were told by Brighton Magistrates Court they were 'free to go' after their charges were dropped
Nigel Jacklin
"This is the 12th investigation in just over six years, and no action has been taken against us. We actually took Sussex Police to the High Court and found out that the community protection warning letters have no legal standing."
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When asked how he and his wife feel now that the case has been dropped by the court, Jacklin admitted that they "don't feel they've won anything", only that their "right to just go to the beach being taken away from us has stopped".
Revealing if they have exchanged any words with the neighbours since, Jacklin added: "It's a relief because in essence, we haven't won anything, but they had 400 CCTV clips of us.
"I did drive past them going out to buy the newspaper yesterday, and they did look rather anguished. They have never exchanged a civil word with us, so I don't really hold out much hope."
Turning the discussion to the financial impact on fighting their neighbour war for so many years, Martin suggested that the Jacklins "must have spent a lot of money" on dealing with the issue.
Nigel Jacklin revealed the couple have spent 'five figures' trying to fight the neighbour's complaints
GB News
Jacklin joked that they "could do with £36,000" but then admitted that he "couldn't put an exact figure" on how much they have spent in total.
He added: "I'm not going to quote a figure, but it is definitely in five figures. And we also did put in a police complaint, which got a very derisory response.
"There are all sorts of problems that still remain, but we just need to make sure that Sussex Police either act on our complaints or certainly don't come after us again."
