Man who repeatedly ‘tormented’ his neighbours sentenced to four and a half years behind bars and given a lifetime restraining order

Roy Gibson, 68-years-old of Gray Close in Hessle, denied all offences and then refused to attend a three-day trial whereby a jury found him guilty of three counts of breaching a Stalking Protection Order and assaulting a police officer.

In December 2024, Gibson was handed a Stalking Protection Order (SPO) following numerous reports from his neighbours alleging Gibson had a vendetta against them and had been verbally abusing and harassing them over a prolonged period of time.

The SPO was initially put in place until March 2025, but officers were quickly made aware that Gibson had breached his conditions within weeks of being handed the order which prohibited contact or the ability for Gibson to make vexatious complaints about his neighbour when, during the early hours of Monday, 23 December, Gibson rang 101 reporting that someone had sprayed pepper spray into his letterbox.

Officers attended and conducted house to house enquiries and after reviewing CCTV, found there was no evidence to suggest this was the case, and this was yet another false claim made against innocent people.

As a result, officers attended on Christmas Eve and whilst attempting to arrest him, Gibson resisted, assaulting a police officer causing injuries to his hand.

Gibson was bailed pending further investigation.

In February 2025, Gibson made another call to report a theft from his property, implicating his neighbour and alleging that they had been entering his property whilst he was out and causing damage to his belongings.

Gibson was subsequently arrested three days later for once again breaching his SPO, and whilst in custody refused to provide any information to officers or answer any questions in interview.

Detective Constable Mike Simpson leading on the investigation said: “This was a campaign of abuse against innocent people who had done nothing to incite such a severity of ongoing torment from Gibson as he continuously complained, made false claims, and allegations against them.

“Even after Gibson was handed an SPO, he showed nothing but disregard for how his behaviour would impact those he targeted, completely ignoring the conditions and continuing to cause distress and upset.

“Not only this, but he has also shown a sheer lack of respect for the entire court process by then refusing to attend his three-day trial at Doncaster Crown Court and prolonging the torment by denying any knowledge of the offences and making the victims sit through a trial.

“This was a joint effort between multiple departments, and I’d like to thank Beverley Criminal Investigation Department, the Beverley and Kirk Ella Neighbourhood Policing teams, as well as the force Senior Lawyer for securing the SPO to protect the victims in the first place, and for their determination to hold Gibson accountable for his behaviour.

“This is an excellent example of team working to not only secure the SPO but also a custodial sentence for someone who, in my opinion, does not care about anything or anyone.

“I hope the result here sends out a stark warning to anyone who thinks it’s okay to cause complete misery to others, that you will be prosecuted.

“We would urge anyone who feels harassed, threatened or has feelings of dread whilst living in their own home and in their own community, to please speak to officers, or call us via our non-emergency number 101.”

Always call 999 in an emergency and if you wish to report anonymously, you can do so via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.