Frustrated because his garden had become a dumping ground for vandals and yobs, Paul Creed snapped and grabbed a teenager he believed had thrown a bottle at his wall.

He was fed up with people piling rubbish in his garden.

It was so bad, even a motorcycle had been dumped there and set on fire.

Pent up anger finally spilled over and he pushed the 13-year-old , who fell down a grass slope, breaking his arm.

In court, Creed admitted assault causing actual bodily after the prosecution did not proceed with a grievous bodily harm charge.

But a judge had sympathy with the 42-year-old over his dilemma of not being allowed to erect a protecting fence or wall around his garden by an alleyway because of a covenant in his deeds.

"It is a bleak situation if he is prevented from putting up some sort of fence," said Judge Andrew Patience QC.

A probation reported recommended up to 300 hours unpaid work as punishment, but said the judge: "I am not going to impose anywhere near that.

"There will be a community order for 40 hours."

He added Creed had been subjected to extreme provocation and he understood the degree of frustration felt.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the teenager was with friends outside Creed's home on an estate in Romney Road, Chatham, on June 7 last year.

Creed grabbed hold of the boy by the collar, believing he had thrown a bottle. He pushed the boy and he fractured his left elbow when he fell.

Passing sentence, Judge Patience said: "It is obvious to me that you have been subjected to extreme provocation generally where you live.

"Groups of feckless youths hanging about, who should be exercised in constructive activities properly controlled by parents, who went up and down using your garden as a dump.

"It is shocking - the filth and tins and the mess that is there. Then worse was to come. A group of youths start throwing bottles at your house.

"That provocation is extreme and weighs very considerably with me in deciding what to do with you.

"Where you went wrong was to effectively take the law into your own hands. I hope you understand that.

"The degree of frustration you experienced I can well understand.

"If we do take the law into our hands when faced with frustrating experiences like this, it would be a short leap to anarchy."

Tony Ventham, defending, said Creed's garden had become a dumping ground because he was not allowed to erect a fence.

"He wrote to his local MP and received no reply, not surprisingly. His local authority commiserated."

Mr Creed's MP at the time was Jonathan Shaw and not Tracey Crouch, who now represents Chatham and Aylesford.

Mr Ventham said a motorcycle had been dumped in his garden and set on fire.

He was "pushed to the limit" when he remonstrated with youths throwing bottles.

"It is similar to those cases reported in newspapers where people are pushed to the edge," he said.

"At no time did he intend any injury to this young man. He has tried everything in his power to stop it happening to his property.

"There was significant provocation. He is very sorry to this young man. He was pushed to the limit."

Judge Patience: "So long as you live there you are faced with this bleak prospect of having to put up with this without much help from the local council.

"But if you take the law into your own hands you are going to end up in court, rather than those responsible. That is the way of things, I am afraid."

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