A NEIGHBOUR from hell made a woman’s life a misery after a year-long campaign of anti-social behaviour.

Karen Anderson said her neighbour Randall Nicholas, 31, frequently abused, harassed and kept her up all night with his selfish antics in Ipswich Road, Colchester.

The 56-year-old claimed it meant she was forced to leave her job as a cleaner as constant sleepless nights rendered her unable to get out of bed.

Ms Anderson revealed she now spends most of her nights away from the property she has lived in for almost three years.

She said: “I hate going home; it is not my home anymore.”

Gazette: Home - Ipswich RoadHome - Ipswich Road (Image: Newsquest)

The nightmare neighbour has now been told by magistrates he must not make noise which can be heard outside his flat for one year.

Nicholas admitted two counts of harassing Ms Anderson between March and July when he appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court last week.

A restraining order was also imposed, banning Nicholas from contacting his neighbour, while he must also undertake 20 days of a rehabilitation activity.

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The victim said his relentless tirade of abuse, which allegedly involved being told he would crack her skull open, had ruined her life for at least a year.

Ms Anderson said she was “disappointed” by what she described as a lenient sentence.

Gazette: Busy - Ipswich RoadBusy - Ipswich Road (Image: Newsquest)

“I have stayed away from home on numerous occasions to get some sleep. He would whack his music up and then whack it back down again,” she said.

“He threatened me numerous times and verbally abused me.

“I have lost my job because of everything going on as there were certain nights where he would do what he wanted and so I couldn’t get up the next morning.

“I had been up all night and could not then go out the front door and go to work.”

Ms Anderson, who revealed she is battling depression, said she does not lack compassion nor want to dictate how people live their lives.

“I totally understand we all live in different ways but his behaviour has made me feel like I need to leave my home,” she added.

Nicholas must also pay £200 in a fine and surcharge.