THIS is the shocking moment a frail OAP hobbled into his neighbour's garden to spray paint their home in a row over a "noisy parrot".

Brazen David Sanderson, who uses a stick to walk, wrote "A***sholes" on a fence with a stencil at first to make sure the insult fit.

He then returned with a can of black spray paint and finished it off with an arrow pointing to George and Patricia Thompson’s house to make it clear who it was aimed at.

They caught him on camera after long suspecting he was behind other incidents during a decade-long fallout.

Horrified Patricia said: "People were slowing down in their cars to take pictures. It was so embarrassing."

Cops are now investigating after Mr Sanderson was also caught on camera throwing rocks and cement into the couple’s back garden.

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The bust-up is said to have begun shortly after the Thompsons moved into their semi in South Shields, South Tyneside, 11 years ago with their twin son and daughter, now aged 20.

They said that Mr Sanderson, who has lived in the adjoining semi for 37 years, soon made it clear he wasn’t happy with them living next door.

Mr Thompson, still working as a scaffolder aged 73, said: “There wasn’t one incident which triggered it all. The bad feeling was more of a gradual thing.

"He had words with my wife about something trivial and it grew from there.

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"My wife and my daughter are really worried and we now sticky-tape the letter box shut because we don't know what might happen next.”

They paid £500 to install security cameras after a foul-mouthed insult was daubed on their back door.

An eyewitness told them Mr Sanderson had done it but they needed proof to go to the police.

So they bought the camera system and on August 21 at 6.33am caught him walking into their garden with his stick to spray their fence.

Mr Thompson added: “He stencilled the word to begin with then went back inside and came out for a second time and painted it properly.

"I couldn't believe it. I had to pressure wash it and give it two coatings of paint to make sure it was all gone.”

Mrs Thompson, 71, said: "We don't know why he has done this. There have been many little things over time but we don't understand why.

"It's been going on for a long time but has got worse over the last six months. It makes you feel on edge all the time, especially at night.

"We have contacted the police. We just want peace.”

Mr Sanderson, 60, claimed he was the victim because he gets woken up regularly by noise from the next-door’s pet parrot, Charlie.

He said: "I don't react unless I'm provoked.

“He's got an illegal fence up as it's not meant to be over a metre high. I've also had my parking space blocked.

"I've made noise complaints because I'm woken up at 5am every morning by a noisy parrot.

“I had a severe accident in 1989, I have crushed vertebrae in my neck, I have PTSD, I am exhausted. I don't want this in my life.

"I'm obviously very concerned about getting in trouble with the police but this is how desperate I've become.

“I spray painted his illegal fence out of frustration and complete desperation.

“If I get into trouble at least I will go to the court and I can put my side of this across.”

The OAP also admitted daubing the back door with the word "c***" but claims he was "pushed" into it.

Mr Thompson hit back: "The parrot doesn't make that much noise. It’s a bit pathetic to blame him.”

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “We received a report of a fence being damaged at a property in South Shields.

“The following day it was reported that items had been thrown into the property’s garden.

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