Mother-of-three, 52, who mocked her Sri Lankan neighbour’s accent and threw eggs at her van in feud over parking space faces jail for race hate crimes

• Victoria Dillon waged a five-month campaign against Kalaithevy Mauourathan

A mother-of-three who mocked her neighbour’s Sri Lankan accent and threw eggs at her van during a feud over a parking space faces jail.

Victoria Dillon, 52, waged a five-month hate campaign against her next door neighbour Kalaithevy Mauourathan when her family started parking their van in a communal space she wrongfully believed was legally hers.

In a bid to stop the van being parked there, Dillon also put notes through their door demanding she park elsewhere and blocked the space with cones and wheelie bins.

She was only stopped when Miss Mauourathan contacted the police who sourced Land Registry documents to show Dillon that the land did not actually belong to her. Dillon was later quizzed and charged with racially aggravated harassment.

When told she faced a prison sentence of up to 12 weeks the sales manager, who had to be told to stop talking to friend in court, replied that wouldn’t happen as she was ‘a respectable person’.

Victoria Dillon (pictured) mocked her neighbour’s Sri Lankan accent during a row over a parking space

The row erupted after Kalaithevy Mauourathan’s family started parking their van in a communal spot that Dillon mistakenly believed belonged to her

At Sefton magistrates court, Dillon of Huyton, near Liverpool denied the charge of racially aggravated harassment but pleaded guilty to an ‘amended version’ on the day of her trial. 

She was bailed for reports but still faces up to two years jail if the case is sent to crown court for sentence.

Miss Paula Grogan, prosecuting, said: ‘This is a harassment matter that has continued over an approximately five-month period. The victim in this matter is a lady who lives directly next door to the defendant. It is a semi-detached house and they are in the two halves of the semi.

‘It would seem that a dispute arose because this lady believed that a parking space directly outside of her property was in fact her land.

‘She took exception to the complainant’s family parking in that space. I do not know if the lady has her own vehicle or not and they were parking their van in the space. That seems to have started this behaviour where the lady was effectively taking steps to stop them parking in that space which she believed was legally hers.

‘She put notes through the door to stop them doing it. She puts out cones. She moved her bins. It escalated on one occasion, which was videoed, when she threw eggs at the van, and so on and so forth.

‘The matters were reported to the police who ultimately spoke with the defendant at the police station. She was shown Land Registry documents which, the lady consequently conceded, established that she did not in fact own the land that was the subject of the dispute.

‘Therefore her neighbours were entitled to put their vehicle there. During one incident on the 15 November towards the end of this course of conduct the lady was involved in some verbal altercation with her neighbour and during that time she mimicked their accent.

‘That is the racially aggravated element of the offence and the basis on which this lady has pleaded guilty to the racially aggravated offence and that is accepted by the Crown. 

Dillon (pictured) also threw eggs at her neighbour’s van and put notes through her door telling her to stop parking there

When told she could face 12 weeks in prison in court, Dillon responded by saying it wouldn’t happen as she’s a ‘respectable person’

‘The complainant is here to give evidence but it is a guilty plea on the day of trial and that has saved a considerable amount of time and saved the complainant having to give evidence about the incident.

‘There will be an issue of compensation and I think that while it is not easy, it is not impossible to impose a restraining order which will stop the lady from any such behaviour in the future. Because of the nature of the offences, and the racially aggravated feature, a pre-sentence report will be necessary.’

In January 2021 Dillon who runs an online boutique was sentenced to six months jail suspended for a year after she turned her home into a cannabis farm. 

Police found eight mature plants and 229 ‘juvenile’ plants which were expected to be grown elsewhere during a raid on the property. She later she said she had been promised £15,000 to store the plants for a friend.

Magistrates ordered a probation report and adjourned for sentencing on January 9 at Wirral Magistrates Court.

Dillon, who was allowed to sit in the body of the court rather than the dock due to her hearing issues, had to be told to stop speaking to her friend in the public gallery while the case was being heard.

At the end of the hearing, JP Thomas Rock asked Dillon’s lawyer to tell her client how to behave in the courtroom warning her that she faced a possible sentence of 12 weeks.

‘That won’t happen,’ Miss Dillon said. ‘I am a respectable person.’

But Mr Rock told her: ‘It is in your interests to cooperate with the probation service and get this matter closed. It is not acceptable to be leaning over and trying to have a conversation with your friend.’

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