Aristocrat 'waged campaign of hate'

An aristocrat is in court today accused of waging an extraordinary campaign of harassment against her probation officer neighbour.

Georganne Uxbridge, 62, is said to have attempted to hound Rosemary Brown out of her flat in Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill.

Among the accusations aired in court are that Lady Uxbridge rang her neighbour's door buzzer and ran away, pressed the intercom button and "babbled incoherently".

She is also said to have posted accusing letters through the communal door of Ms Brown's block of flats, and put up signs in the street making allegations about Ms Brown.

Lady Uxbridge, who has two children and is separated from her husband, the Earl of Uxbridge, lives next door to Ms Brown's housing association flat. Ms Brown told West London magistrates that Lady Uxbridge began harassing her in 1998 after Ms Brown became embroiled in a dispute with another tenant in her block of flats.

Ms Brown said Lady Uxbridge first began making "sly comments" to her shortly after this dispute.

Lady Uxbridge was said to have been arrested in 2001 when Ms Brown complained that she was "babbling into her intercom and had repeatedly pressed the buzzer and run off ".

She was reported to have been released without charge, but the court heard that she went on to daub signs that claimed Ms Brown was responsible for a growing tide of violence in the flats next door. One of the multicolouredsigns shown in court, read: "Rose Brown: there was no physical violence between neighbours until you arrived at 113."

Another claimed that Lady Uxbridge had received compensation from the police after her arrest. "Nine hours with the police=£15,000 for me. Easy money."

Others read: Criminal offence - wasting police time" and "Rose Brown, thank you for the money - just compensation for me concerning your lies to the police."

Another neighbour, Janet Thelander, said she found Lady Uxbridge's behaviour " intimidating" and "distressing and disturbing".

She said she first realised there was a problem when Lady Uxbridge, who had stopped to give her a volume of poetry, suddenly hurled abuse at Ms Brown, who was passing by.