A woman harassed her neighbours by repeatedly ringing their doorbell, smashing a glass pane and emptying her wheelie bin onto their driveway in a noise dispute.

In what a judge described as a “sorry episode”, Deborah Powell was said to be frustrated by the couple who lived directly opposite the home she shared with her ailing mother in Canterbury.

In one ill-tempered outburst, the 47-year-old branded the man and woman “t**ts, w***ers and a***holes”, before adding they had “no right to be here”.

She even interrupted 30th birthday celebrations being held at their house to complain about fireworks and then branded them racists for their apparent lack of “white guests”, Canterbury Crown Court was told.

Her behaviour was said to be so distressing that the couple eventually moved out to live with a relative.

Powell later admitted offences of racially aggravated stalking, common assault and assault on an emergency worker.

But at her sentencing hearing last Tuesday, Judge Simon James said although he did not want to undermine the “adverse” impact of being harassed by a neighbour, the case required “a degree of perspective”.

Powell was supported in court by a number of people, including her brother and a retired church minister who had provided what was described as a “very helpful” letter.

However, she had to be warned not to interrupt proceedings after she shouted from the dock “They’re lying” as the account given by her neighbours to police was heard.

Prosecutor Puneet Grewal said the couple had moved into Glen Iris Avenue in December 2021.

Issues with their neighbour began in February last year when she told them she was “unhappy” about the noise being made by their builders and a tree being cut down.

Powell also claimed the workmen were staring at her and her bed-bound mother, and wrote a letter in which she said the dust was a risk to her mother’s health.

She also moaned to the man about the “quality” of his parking and why he had two cars, the court heard.

“On one occasion she stood in the road preventing him from driving off and asked how he could afford work on his house when she couldn’t afford to buy milk,” said Ms Grewal.

Further complaints were made after the man played drums in his garage for 30 to 45 minutes on April 1 last year.

Powell, described as irate, went to the house and asked him: “Why are you playing drums? It’s God’s day. This is a peaceful neighbourhood.”

But when the prosecutor told the court the couple feared she may have peered into their home to know they had a drum kit, Judge James interjected: “Or maybe she just heard them.”

Two days later the couple were asleep when they were woken at about 1am by the sound of smashing glass in their front door.

“They checked their Ring doorbell and saw the defendant had hammered on the door so hard it shattered,” explained Ms Grewal.

Powell also told her neighbours: “It’s your fault I am the way I am. Why did you have to move here? I have mental health...You are in my head. I can’t get you out.”

Police were called and she was handed a community resolution with a requirement to write an apology.

However, a month later the couple received a post-dated letter in which Powell said: “You made me feel suicidal and I want to hurt myself and you.”

Powell was again spoken to by police and “given words of advice”, continued the prosecutor.

But after the couple returned from their honeymoon in July, the harassment continued with Powell banging on their front door and shouting at the woman as she sat in her car.

Powell was then given a conditional caution banning any contact with the couple, but within three weeks she had interrupted the man’s 30th birthday party, the court was told.

“At around 1.30am the defendant banged on the front door saying, ‘It’s 2am, there are fireworks. Why the f*** aren’t you asleep?’,” said Ms Grewal.

“She then pushed the door and said, ‘Is there a single white person in there?’”

On being told by someone inside the house that her comment was racist, Powell replied: “You’re the f***ing racist. I think you have proved that you’re racist. Have you invited a white person from your neighbourhood?”

The court heard that during the confrontation Powell also pushed the woman.

Further outbursts included Powell sticking two fingers up at the property and calling out: “I heard you were running around with knives last night. T**ts, w***ers and a***holes. You have no right to be here.”

She was also overheard saying the couple made her so angry that she “wanted to hurt them.”

After that encounter, they moved out but within two minutes of the man visiting his house on September 16, Powell had run across the road to repeatedly ring his doorbell and bang on the letterbox.

“She then went back to her house, collected her wheelie bin and emptied it behind his car on the driveway before returning home with the bin,” added the prosecutor.

When interviewed by police, Powell accepted she had breached her caution but said her neighbours were making noise.

She denied her comments were racist but accepted they could be “perceived” as such, said Ms Grewal.

“She agreed she said they had no right to be here but that that was a reference to them being noisy neighbours,” added the prosecutor.

“She said she felt frightened, bullied and scared due to the noise they made.”

However, the court heard Powell also told police she wanted to “p*** them off, make them insecure and intimidate them.”

It was as she was being charged that she retorted “This is c**p” and grabbed a female police officer by her arms and pushed her forcefully against a wall, asking: “How many more months will this get me?”

Powell has a previous conviction for common assault and possessing an offensive weapon in 2008, and a caution for criminal damage in 2014.

Her lawyer, Thomas Davidson, said she had revealed she “felt safe” being in prison since her arrest.

He added she would “clearly” need help and support in the future, and said her mother was now in a care home.

Imposing a 24-week prison term which meant Powell was to be immediately released from custody, Judge James said her mental health issues, as well as the struggle of dealing with the loss of her father and caring for her mother at the time of the offending, were “well-documented” in court papers.

He also remarked that while her behaviour was “undoubtedly unpleasant and concerning” - and committed in spite of official warnings - the “whole sorry episode cannot be said to be the most serious offence of its type.”

Judge James told Powell: “You became frustrated at the noise your neighbours were causing, which eventually bubbled over into you abusing them and harassing them despite being warned about your conduct.”

He added that her comments were “unjustified and wholly unsettling” but said there was no evidence the couple were specifically targeted because of their race or heritage, and no physical harm or damage was caused.

On deciding the appropriate sentence, Judge James said a two-year restraining order would provide her victims, who have not returned to their home, with ongoing protection.

But he warned Powell: “The hope and expectation is that you will be able to go with the people who have come to support you. But you need to understand this is giving you a chance.

“If you commit further offences or re-engage with the same people, it may be that a judge cannot show you the same mercy as I have been persuaded to.”