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A 50-year-old woman has been given a suspended sentence for harassing her neighbours in Masham over a period of almost a year.

Summer Sugar was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court yesterday after being found guilty in July of harassment by anti-social behaviour between September 15, 2019, and August 25, 2020.

Magistrates heard her neighbours were left unable to go about their lives because of the constant fear of what she would do.

She was found to have caused consistent noise nuisance, with intense loud banging on walls for prolonged periods and playing loud music. She had taken photographs of her neighbours in their garden, including their young children, and had made a malicious complaint to Yorkshire Water about them blocking her drain, which turned out to be false.

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Asking magistrates not to impose a custodial sentence, defence solicitor Callum Terry said Sugar had three children, one of whom had “significant learning and behavioural difficulties” and another who was only 11 and was home schooled.

He said her anti-social behaviour towards her neighbours had stopped two years previously and asked magistrates to take this into account when sentencing.

Sugar was currently facing her own health problems, he said, with investigations ongoing into pain and discomfort she was experiencing. He added:

“She moved to the North Yorkshire area having fled domestic violence. She was in a very abusive relationship and she fled that with support from various agencies.”

However, the prosecution said the impact of Sugar’s actions should not be underestimated. A victim impact statement written by the mother was read to the court.

In it, she said:

“[This situation] has eaten into my confidence, wellbeing and health. It has taken precious time away from the important, good things in my life, to try and get her to stop and now to get justice for my family.

“I have wasted so much of my time having to liaise with various people and organisations about her. All this unnecessary, negative work has taken me away from my husband and my children.”

Magistrates imposed a 12-week custodial sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered Sugar to pay a £128 surcharge and £300 costs.

They also imposed a two-year restraining order preventing Sugar from contacting the victims directly or indirectly.

Harrogate district woman found guilty of harassing neighbours

A Harrogate district woman has been found guilty of harassing her neighbours for almost a year.

Summer Sugar, 50, was found guilty of harassment by anti-social behaviour, including consistent noise nuisance, intense loud banging on walls for prolonged periods and playing loud music.

Sugar, of Masham, was also guilty of taking photos of her neighbours while they did work on their house and were in the garden, as well as making malicious complaints to Yorkshire Water about them blocking her drain, which turned out to be false.

The prosecution said the behaviour, which lasted from September 15, 2019 until August 25, 2020, caused the family next door “a severe amount of distress”.

Sugar was found guilty at North Yorkshire Magistrates Court, sitting in York, on Tuesday.

She was remanded on unconditional bail until July 26 when she will appear before York magistrates again.

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