Home / Crime and Justice / Sinister Neighbors' Five-Year Campaign of Terror
Sinister Neighbors' Five-Year Campaign of Terror
11 Jul
Summary
- Couple terrorized by neighbors for five years after buying a farmhouse.
- Neighbors sent weapon pictures and vandalized property during the ordeal.
- Couple's tormentors were later found dead in what appeared to be a suicide pact.
Amanda Hutton and Richard Burton discovered their dream farmhouse in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, but their idyllic vision was shattered by sinister neighbors. In the summer of 2018, Francis and Cassie Collins moved in next door, initially appearing friendly. A deception over land purchase led to the Collinses taking £26,000 from Hutton and Burton.
The Collinses' behavior then drastically changed, involving threats, including sending pictures of weapons. They began trespassing, filming the couple, and allowing their dogs to attack Hutton and Burton's pets. Francis repeatedly cut their water pipe and erected a two-meter-high security fence along their boundary.
Escalating their campaign, the Collinses fired a crossbow at the couple's fence and, in 2020, shot ball bearings at their home, narrowly missing them. Francis was arrested but released, subsequently firebombing the farmhouse. He received a seven-month sentence for malicious communications and the petrol bomb incident, later revealed to be involved in a larger crime ring.
The Collinses moved to Devon after a restraining order. In June 2023, they were found dead at home, believed to be a suicide pact. Hutton and Burton, who have documented their ordeal in a book, are now rebuilding their lives, finding the writing cathartic and hoping for healing.
