Neighbours of a man handed a conditional discharge after he brandished a Samurai sword in Helston have spoken of the “nightmare” they lived in.

Michael Glanville pleaded guilty to affray by using or threatening unlawful violence, but denied having an offensive weapon in a public place.

This plea was accepted by the prosecution when 46-year-old Glanville appeared before Truro Crown Court.

Glanville, who lived in a flat in Kinglsey Way at the time, had confronted his neighbour Robert Sellars with the two-foot blade on the afternoon of Sunday, April 14, after getting angry about Mr Sellars using a hammer on a DIY project.

It was claimed Glanville had threatened to “chop his head off” during an argument about the noise but had not used sword in any way, merely lifting it up.

Glanville, who now lives in St Clements Close, Truro, was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge for what Judge Christopher Harvey Clark described as a “silly act.”

The Packet can now reveal what neighbours said in the aftermath of the incident, which could not be printed until the close of the court case.

At the time some residents had been considering starting a petition calling for Glanville and another person living there to be evicted by landlords Coastline Housing, claiming they had suffering for two years.

“They're a nightmare,” one said. “They keep residents awake day and night. We're sick of it. Every single person on this street gets on, which is unusual, and they're the fly in the ointment.

“I won't walk out on my own at night at all. I have to have my fiancé come and pick me up, literally from 100 yards, because I won't walk home.”

Most homes in the road keep their curtains and blinds permanently closed, so as not to indicate whether the resident is home.

While one acknowledged that Coastline's hands “were tied”, as there were as procedure that had to be followed, another was critical that nothing had been done yet.

The resident said: “They're just doing nothing.”

It was claimed that Glanville and a woman regularly knocked on people's doors, often a few times a day, asking for slices of bread or cigarettes, and had been sick in other people's gardens.

“We always ring each other if we're going to go round – I just don't answer the door. It's just a way of life now,” added the resident.

A spokesman for Coastline Housing said at the time: “Coastline takes allegations of anti-social behaviour very seriously and acts upon all reports of anti-social behaviour by or against its customers. We work very closely with police and other agencies by sharing information to ensure our communities are safe places to live.

“Our anti-social behaviour policy is followed in all cases, and in serious or long running cases, circumstances can lead to the perpetrator losing their tenancy.

“For incidents involving weapons, we work very closely with the police and other partners, and will seek possession of the home along with an injunction to prevent that person returning to the area.

“In all incidents of anti-social behaviour, we keep complainants informed throughout the process and customers are very satisfied with the ways in which we deal with all incidents.”

The crown court was told that Coastline had since imposed a civil order on Glanville that prevented him from entering Kingsley Way for one year.