A DALES landlord, disgruntled at the attitude of neighbouring tenants, put up a poster welcoming drug addicts, a court heard.

John Brennand, 52, had spent several months trying to evict noisy tenants from his property in Ingleton, Skipton magistrates were told. He eventually got rid of them, but the tenants in the other half of the barn conversion were annoyed by the length of time it had taken.

Prosecuting, Caroline Midgley said Brennand had then put up two insulting posters in a porch between the two properties. One of the posters had suggested that the husband of the complainant, Michelle Routh, was in love with their old neighbour, while a second advertised the property with one month’s free rent and welcoming drug addicts.

Mrs Midgley said it had been a 'tit for tat' attempt by Brennand who had been frustrated by the actions of Ms Routh. Brennand, who admitted putting up insulting posters which were likely to cause distress in June and July, had spent the best part of a year trying to evict the difficult tenants, the court was told.

In mitigation, John Batty said Brennand had been acting out of frustration when he had put up three notices in the porch, two of which could have caused upset. Mr Batty added it had been totally out of character for his client. Brennand, of New Road, was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £85.