A millionaire dubbed “Britain’s worst landlord” has narrowly avoided prison after harassing council staff again.

Property magnate Fergus Wilson, from Maidstone, has been slapped with a six-month prison sentence suspended for three years after breaching a high-profile injunction.

Ashford Borough Council in 2022 successfully obtained a permanent injunction blocking Wilson from contacting current and former officers, employees, councillors and agents.

But the former buy-to-let mogul was punished in the High Court again on Thursday having continued to bombard the authority with nuisance emails and floods of Freedom of Information requests.

Judge Anthony Dunne KC found Wilson’s latest antics amounted to contempt of court and ordered him to pay £75,000 to cover half the council’s costs.

In a high-profile ruling, Wilson’s injunction ordered he only had contact with one senior officer at the council having launched a decade of abuse.

But Ashford council would return to the High Court in March alleging Wilson, of Boughton Monchelsea, had continued to harass staff and councillors in a blatant breach.

The council's barrister Adam Solomon KC previously handed over an eye-watering 454 pieces of correspondence which Wilson sent to council officials in the space of just over four years - between February 2016 and July 2020.

Mr Soloman said his behaviour had made workers feel harassed and intimidated, with some receiving emails from him on a daily basis.

The case concluded in September 2021 and in May 2022, with the court ordering Wilson to stump up £125,000 to the authority as a part payment "on account" while the full costs were assessed.

The council said it believed the value - just under 75 per cent of their estimated costs of £170,000 - represents a reasonable sum.

In 2021, the court heard how legitimate inquiries by Mr Wilson would quickly turn to him repeatedly belittling, insulting and abusing councillors or council workers in an attempt to get his own way.

Included in the council's evidence was a letter, sent to former council leader Gerry Clarkson's home address, calling him a 'buffoon', 'an a******', 'a bag of ****' and said he should 'do all the young people in Ashford a service and commit suicide'.

Wilson’s lawyer Andrew Deakin argued the communications the landlord sent "didn't cross the threshold of what would be considered harassment".