Shock moment row over spy cameras erupts as neighbours filmed fighting over bricks on path between homes
THIS is the shocking moment a bitter row over “spy” cameras and a brick wall erupted into chaos as cops were called on brawling neighbours.
Police were forced to intervene after a four-year long dispute came to a boil on an estate in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
It was sparked after local, Kevin Grogan, decided he wanted to add a gate in a public alleyway, after claiming the land was his own.
The 68-year-old also enraged the neighbourhood when he installed “highly intrusive” CCTV, with night vision and audio recording.
Fuming residents have dubbed the move a “land grab” and branded Grogan a “neighbour from hell”.
Homeowners say they live in constant fear the cameras are being used to spy on them and “pest” Grogan has since been embroiled in a heated war with neighbour Mohammed Alam.
Their intense rows have seen the police called out dozens of times and Grogan has even been hauled to court over his elaborate CCTV set up.
However, he blatantly ignored orders to reposition the cameras and allow public access to the alleyway.
The former builder found himself convicted of two accounts of failing to comply with a community protection notice.
Even after facing shame at Manchester Magistrates Court, Grogan was determined to keep his gate – which led to the latest scarp between himself and Mr Alam.
Footage of an enraged Mr Alam taking an angle grinder to the boundary in an attempt to remove it for good stunned locals.
Rubble left behind in the wreckage was left sprawled across the road.
The vigilante neighbour ordered a skip to clear the eyesore but found himself in yet another heated confrontation with Grogan – who accused Mr Alam of stealing bricks.
Cops were called to the “farce” in a bid to de-escalate the four year long dispute.
Mr Alam said: “I wanted to remove a load of chopped down pallets from the alleyway to create more space.
“Myself and another neighbour had clubbed together to order a skip.
“But when we started loading it up with the pallets and some bricks that were lying around, Mr Grogan accused me of stealing the bricks.
“One of officers had to get inside and take all the bricks back out again.
“Mr Grogan also accused me of assaulting him after he tried to provoke me, which is rubbish.”
The dad-of-three also claimed his nightmare neighbour has “wasted so much police time” as he continues “dragging this on and on”.
“If they lived next door to him they’d probably feel like throwing him in the skip,” he added.
While he wants to “get on with his life”, he has no hope Grogan will cease his endless barrage of bullying and threats.
And, this is not the first time Grogan has come before a magistrate.
In 2021 he was convicted for using a trailer to block access in the alleyway – for which he was slapped with a six-month conditional discharge.
He maintained his CCTV cameras were put up to ward-off threats from Mr Alam and claimed he had a “reasonable excuse” to ignore the CPN.
Additionally, despite padlocking and chaining access to the alleyway, Grogan tried to deny keeping it closed from the public.
District judge Tom Mitchell fined the defendant £1380.
Mr Alam has previously slammed his neighbour, and claimed: “The trouble started as soon as we moved in and has been going on for more than four years.
“Mr Grogan made a land-grab when he closed off the alleyway and filled it with rubbish.
“And his cameras give my family no privacy – they are like Big Brother on steroids.
“It feels like we are living under occupation.”
