‘Big Brother’ neighbour drove family out of their home with spy camera campaign

'I was undergoing cancer treatment and this only added to the stress and anxiety I've suffered.'

A nightmare neighbour who set up cameras to spy on a couple has been convicted of stalking.

Matthew Kenyon was nicknamed ‘Big Brother’ after he became obsessed with neighbours Carey and Rachel Styles and set up CCTV cameras to watch them in their home.

The Styles’ lived next door to him – but Kenyon, 36, fell out with them after their car door accidentally swung out and hit his car due to a strong gust of wind.

An argument over the cost of repairing his car sparked a six-year feud which eventually led to the Styles’ moving out in 2023.

While living next door to each other in the ironically named Pleasant Street in Widnes, Cheshire, Kenyon became obsessed with the couple. He wrote horrible emails, made faked complaints against them on an almost daily basis, and even researched their visitors to try and get them to leave.

Kenyon sent letters to a Roman Catholic primary school where Mrs Styles was a teaching assistant to falsely claim she and her husband mixed with ‘prolific cocaine users’.

Mrs Styles, who suffers from cancer, was made subject of two official safeguarding investigations following the trumped up allegations against her – and kept her job after officials found no evidence of wrongdoing.

He also reported Mr Styles to his local council and to police after Kenyon discovered he was unwittingly employing a convicted rapist as one of his labourers.

Her husband laid off the workman convicted of rape when told about his background – but he was still forced to pull out of a £3,500 renovation project. The couple eventually moved out of their property in October last year.

When quizzed by police Kenyon was found to have spreadsheets documenting his neighbours’ activity and he further claimed to have seen the Styles’ buy drugs from a barman.

He had even put a letter through the Styles’ door saying he had reported them to the DVLA as the MOT of one of their vehicles was out of date.

Kenyon denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of stalking at Warrington magistrates court. He was sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work and banned from contacting the the victims for five years under the terms of a restraining order.

The Styles began feuding with Kenyon about the cost of repairs after the accidental damage to Kenyon’s car in 2017.

Mr Styles was reported to police after he was repeatedly caughthurling abuse and on one occasion spraying the BMW with bleach.

In 2022 Mr Styles was convicted of harassment and was fined £160 and had to abide by a six month ‘acceptable behaviour contract’, drawn up Halton Housing which rents out the property.

But Kenyon then sent a slew of further complaints about Mr and Mrs Styles to various agencies in a spiteful attempt to have them moved on.

In a statement Mrs Styles said: ‘I was undergoing cancer treatment and this only added to the stress and anxiety I’ve suffered.

‘I have been medicated for depression and I have had counselling to try to manage this due to how low I felt when he campaigned against me.

‘I experienced low self-esteem and at one stage I told my counsellor it would be better if I was not here anymore. I have a very supportive husband but this put a huge strain on our relationship.

‘Along with being paranoid I have been unable to sleep at night due to the fear that there will be further issues and Matthew is still watching the address.

‘At work I am also paranoid that my colleagues are talking about me and I panic when the manager wants to speak to me.

‘Even thought we have now moved I still find myself sometimes believing that I am in my old address and the issues that this will bring. I feel I’m constantly looking over my shoulder when I am shopping and I am constantly looking out of my window.

‘Before I go to bed I find I have to check outside to make sure Matthew is not standing outside my house watching me.

‘I do not like what I have become. I find myself sometimes isolating from friends, not seeing them for support. I feel vulnerable and have lost my confidence. ‘

Mr Styles said in his victim statement: ‘I have been suffering from anxiety and depression as a result of this constant surveillance and I am constantly worrying about the effects it’s had on my partner.

‘She was recovering from cancer surgery and the added stress on her was having a detrimental effect and I worried about her.

‘I did not want to move but we had no other option in order to continue with our lives and not have to worry about being constantly observed by our neighbours.’

In his evidence Kenyon denied deliberately pointing his CCTV cameras at the Styles’ property but said he had been advised by the council and police to compile a log of incidents following Mr Styles harassment conviction.

His lawyer Vic Wozny said: ‘Since the Styles moved, there has not been a peep about anything being done wrong by my client. There has never been any complaints about other neighbours or complaints from them about him.

‘The court can be satisfied that this man would cause no trouble to anybody else in the future.’

But sentencing JP Christine Pugh told Kenyon: ‘You cannot contact them by any means whatsoever. If you see them accidentally, cross the road. If you breach this you will find yourself back before the court.’

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