Snore Wars

A man launched a four-year campaign of vandalism against his neighbours in a row over snoring. David Chandler, 39, regularly kept Jacques Cilliers awake at night because his snoring could be heard through the wall dividing their houses.

And when Mr Cilliers and his family complained, Chandler took revenge by damaging their car late at night. He slashed the vehicle's tyres 15 times and was caught only after his victims installed CCTV.

Claudius Taylor, prosecuting, told Reading magistrates that Chandler, who is unemployed, had a sleep disorder.

"This caused him to make breathing noises which went through the walls and disturbed his neighbours," he said. "This neighbour's family were abusive towards him and he could hear them talking about it. He then got into a blind rage and the only way to release his anger was to slash the tyres."

Representing himself, Chandler, from Reading, claimed he was mentally ill. "All I can say is that on most of these occasions I was provoked considerably," he said.

Chandler admitted four counts of criminal damage this year and asked for 11 similar charges dating back to 2004 to be taken into account.

The case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports.