In her attempt to overturn a conviction of assault, a grandmother who squirted her neighbours with disinfectant and said that they should run ‘two meters’ from her fence during the first lockdown failed.
Countryside warden Jane Downall, 61, used the anti-bacterial spray to clean the wooden pallets in her fence after Samantha Fisher and her daughter Ebony leaned over them to chat to another neighbour three doors down in Heywood, Greater Manchester.
But as she unleashed the spray on April 5 last year, just two weeks after the Government imposed lockdown restrictions, droplets of the potentially corrosive liquid hit the faces of Mrs Fisher and Ebony – and both had to seek medical treatment in hospital for suspected burns.
Clifton Fisher Fisher, a construction worker, was Mrs Fisher’s husband. He said that he had just asked Downall what he had done. Clifton Fisher, the husband of Mrs. Fisher, said that he had asked Downall ‘what have you just done?’ Before spraying him.
Downall was arrested by police after officers arrived on the scene to discover the victims with reddening faces. However, neither of them sustained any lasting injuries. Downall told officers that her neighbours had been clogging her fence, and that she was trying to protect her parents.
She said that Sam was making exaggerated, loud cough sounds in the garden. Her husband was also there. She was laughing and coughing hysterically. “She popped her head above the fence and was talking to me about hair color.
Downall was convicted in August of common assault at Tameside Magistrates Court.
She appealed against her verdict, but her plea was rejected by a judge who conditionally discharged the defendant for six months on October 21.
Jane Downall (pictured), Jane Downall (61), is a countryside warden who used the antibacterial spray to clean wooden pallets
Pictured: Samantha Fisher with daugher Ebony Taylor. The incident took place on April 5, last year, just two weeks after the Government had imposed lockdown restrictions
These are the Heywood homes. Police arrested Downall when officers arrived on the scene to discover the victims with reddening skin. Neither of the victims sustained permanent injuries.
The court heard that Downall, a worker at Daisy Nook park near Oldham had lived next to the Fishers since 2013. However, the neighbors had made repeated complaints about each other following the construction of the fence by Mr Fisher in 2018. This was to seperate their gardens.
Construction worker Mr Fisher said that he was hosting a family barbecue, and it was just him, my wife, and Ebony. My wife was talking to a neighbour who had previously messaged her and was speaking to her from three doors down.
Miss Downall was speaking with another neighbour on my opposite side. I recall her walking into her house and returning with a spray bottle in her hand.
“She began to say, “Get away from my fence,” then she walked towards me and got very close before spraying the liquid.
Ebony and Samantha stood on a platform with their heads above the fence, and Miss Downall was facing them. Samantha and Ebony went inside after she had sprayed several more times.
He added that Ebony and Mrs Fisher were both repeatedly washing their face and eyes and they both had to go in an ambulance.
Jane Downall, pictured at the court, used the antibacterial spray to clean wooden pallets after Samantha Fisher, her daughter Ebony, and her neighbour three doors below in Heywood, Greater Manchester, leaned over them to speak to another neighbor. Right: Downall used a spray similar to that of Downall
Pictured are Samantha Fisher and Clifton Fisher. Clifton Fisher told Clifton that Downall had asked him “What have you done?” Clifton Fisher stated that he had asked Downall ‘what have you just done?’. She replied ‘two meters, get away from me fence’ before trying spray him.
Downall had told police: ‘I said if you want to talk to the other neighbour go and talk to them at the front of the house and there was then some argy-bargy.
“I said that I was spraying the fence right now, and it was a natural antibacterial spray. I asked you to get down because I was concerned about getting in touch with them. Samantha and Ebony asked me what I was doing, and I replied that I was spraying the walls.
‘Cliff then said ”you stupid f***ing bitch, what are you doing?” I replied: ”You are not even two metres from me, get away. I am spraying fence. ‘
She stated that she was not trying “inflict any injury” except to germs.
Downall stated in court that he was afraid of COVID and was conscious of the two-metre rule. Cynthia, my neighbor, was speaking to me. The Fishers were talking across our two gardens. They were shouting and saliva was coming out their mouths.
“It was at dawn of the Covid, and we were locked down. I was protecting Cynthia and my Mum, Dad. Because at the time, no one knew how you caught COVID, I was aware that it could have been airborne. I didn’t want any virus to get into my body. I was very careful.
“They were making jokes about the pandemic, and there had been exaggerated coughing. I was not aware of the germs. I asked them to remove the fence, but they refused. I stated that I was going get the stuff to clean it. It is a mist-spray that I purchased from Aldi.
“I started spraying where I thought they would be. That is when they started shouting at Sam. Sam said that she had assaulted Sam and that the neighbours were also witnesses. I didn’t mean to spray them with the spray, and I thought they were being silly.
Downall stated that he was scared of COVID, and was aware of the two-metre rule.
“Four police vehicles turned up, and I was distraught. I couldn’t believe it. I was reluctant to give the police entry to my home due to the two-metre social distancing requirements. It is very important to me.
“There is a history between us and I feel terrorized by these people. Although I was advised not to aggravate them, I was concerned about the germs.
Judge Angela Nield, sitting alongside two magistrates, rejected Downall’s appeal. She said: “At the time, the country was in lockdown for only three weeks. The pandemic had just begun and there was still much speculation about the way individuals could be infected.
This incident also occurred before the introduction of masks and regulations that required a two-metre limit. The appellant claimed that she was very interested in COVID regulations, and did not want her to be infected. There is a history of acrimony and complaints, as well as counter complaints. Miss Downall has been living at her address for approximately 20 years, while the complainants live at their address for about eight years.
We don’t believe that the appellant intended to cause harm to the complainants. However, we find her actions reckless. It was evident that her history of antagonism made her reckless in her actions that led to the assault. It was a brief event, and we consider the events of the day in question to be specific to her heightened agitation about the pandemic as well as the situation she perceived.
“We are conscious that this will become part of an extended saga which does no good for anyone. This was an accident, not an intentional attack.