Former teacher from Shorne near Gravesend beat his neighbour in his own home after he refused to let him connect his guttering to a drainpipe

A former teacher beat his neighbour black and blue after he refused to let him connect his guttering to a drainpipe.

Jeff Saward, who has a blue belt in Judo, barged his way into his neighbour’s house by kicking the door until he was forced to open it and then pummeled the man with repeated punches during a sustained attack.

His neighbour, Steven Verge, was left with an injured, bloody ear, a black eye, a bruise to the cheek and covered in his own blood.

Saward, of Racefield Close, Shorne, Gravesend, was later charged and admitted to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared in court in September.

He returned to Medway Magistrates’ Court on November 20 for sentencing.

Terry Knox, prosecuting, said the beating, which happened on May 28, was sparked by Mr Verge’s refusal t