Plagued by years of petty vandalism, a group of neighbours decided enough was enough.
They clubbed together to buy a CCTV system and waited to gather evidence of crimes committed by what they thought were local yobs.
Sure enough, two cars were soon spattered with a mixture of flour and eggs and the cameras revealed the culprit.
Mrs Bibby can be seen flinging flour towards one of her neighbour's cars. This CCTV image led to her being arrested and cautioned for criminal damage
Not some teenage hoodie but 63-year-old grandmother Jennifer Bibby, the Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator, a regular churchgoer and a police sergeant’s widow.
Confronted with the evidence of her actions, Mrs Bibby was arrested and accepted a caution for causing criminal damage.
She has since sent a humiliating letter of apology to her victims but remains persona non grata in Nursery Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
Beautician Clare Leverton, 44, a mother of two whose black BMW convertible was one of those targeted by Mrs Bibby, said: ‘We were all in shock when we saw the CCTV footage because no one expected Jennifer to be responsible.’ Relations in the area soured several years ago after Miss Leverton claimed ownership of a piece of land next to her three-bedroom end-of-terrace home.
The neighbourhood was effectively split into two camps after some residents signed a petition of complaint but Miss Leverton insisted it had been obtained legally under the Land Registration Act as she had maintained it for 12 years.
Some homeowners then began finding rubbish dumped on their driveways.
Miss Leverton said she had twice had pet food thrown through her window and was visited by the RSPCA following an unfounded complaint about how she caredfor her dog.
She and some other neighbours raised £1,000 to buy four motion-activated CCTV cameras – which filmed Mrs Bibby attacking Miss Leverton’s car and a green Ford Fiesta belonging to Suzanne Hoole. Mrs Bibby has since posted a note of apology through Miss Hoole’s door.
It said: ‘I am just writing to apologise about your car. It will come off with hot water and washing-up liquid. Pass on my apologies to Clare.’
Diana Reed, 40, a full-time carer for her disabled son, has also suffered vandalism over the past few years. She said Mrs Bibby ‘should be stopping behaviour like this happening rather than committing anti-social crimes herself’.
Mrs Bibby, whose husband Kenneth died six years ago, yesterday repeated her apology and said she would be stepping down from her Neighbourhood Watch role.
‘It was a mistake,’ she said. ‘I admitted it to the police and put my hands up and said “I’m sorry”. The flour was unprovoked but it was the build-up of a number of years of provocation. All I can say is someone round here has got a bad attitude.
‘Now I’m being persecuted. I can’t think of anything terrible I have done apart from the flour.’
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Watch out for neighbourhood watch.
Watch out for neighbourhood watch.
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