Homeowner, 57, who doused his neighbour’s son in petrol and threatened to set him on fire with blowtorch in parking row is fined £800
- Hugh Vinning, 57, admitted the assault which occurred in Fife, Scotland last year
- Vinning claimed he believed the younger man was going to kill him with a brick
- Bitter row erupted when David Harrison blocked Vinning’s driveway with his car
- Vinning pleaded guilty and was made to pay £800 fine by Dundee Sheriff Court
Hugh Vinning, 57, (pictured) pleaded guilty to assaulting David Harrison after he doused him in petrol and threatened to set him alight
A homeowner who doused his neighbour’s son in petrol and threatened to set him alight in a row over parking has been fined £800.
A court heard how Hugh Vinning, 57, brandished a blowtorch and said he would set David Harrison on fire for blocking his driveway.
The shocking incident took place in Freuchie, Fife, in Scotland last summer.
Vinning told his neighbour: ‘I’m going to set you on fire,’ after throwing petrol on him while clutching the blowtorch, Dundee Sheriff Court heard.
But he was spared jail on Thursday after previously pleading guilty to assaulting Mr Harrison on June 20 last year.
The court heard Vinning believed Mr Harrison, the son of his next-door neighbour, was going to kill him with a brick he was holding above his head.
The huge row was sparked after Mr Harrison had blocked Vinning’s driveway with his car when he was expecting guests to arrive.
Prosecutor Emma Farmer said: ‘Over the past couple of weeks the dispute had escalated.
‘On the day in question, the complainer left his mother’s address and engaged in conversation with the accused.
‘An argument ensued between them regarding the complainer parking on the accused’s private property.
‘Things got heated between the two and the accused returned to his home address.
‘He returned with a plastic container in his hand along with a blowtorch.
‘The complainer had been at his mother’s rear garden and felt a liquid on his left hand side, along with a smell of petrol.
‘He then saw the accused with the blowtorch.’
After police officers arrived, Vinning said: ‘I shouldn’t have did what I did. I just lost it.’
Vinning pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Harrison by throwing petrol on him while in possession of a blowtorch, pointing it in his direction and making a threat to set him on fire.
Solicitor Jim Laverty previously said his client had felt intimidated by the taller and younger Mr Harrison.
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