Living hell

June Durrant swallowed pills and alcohol after a couple subjected her to months of torment, say her worried family.

But Mrs Durrant, who suffers from epilepsy, survived her cry for help and is recovering in Burnley General Hospital.

But her angry daughter, Susan Moulding, says her elderly mother should never have been driven to such despair.

And she says Pendle Council, which owns the flats complex in Church Meadows, Colne, where Mrs Durrant lives, should have acted quicker to protect her mother.

The couple, Susan Greenwood and her boyfriend, have denied harassing or intimidating the pensioner, and said she was eccentric.

Mrs Durrant was found collapsed on the floor of her flat. She had left a note saying she could not stand any more and she had had enough of the torment.

But Susan Greenwood says she totally refutes the allegations made against her.

"I'm not guilty of any harassment," she said. "This woman is eccentric. She's losing it. "Once she came knocking on our door at 4.30 in the morning saying she'd found a cat. I don't know what she expected us to do. She's the one that's been knocking on our door."

Her boyfriend Kevin added: "Her family has made threats towards me. There's no malice whatsoever on our behalf. There's no eccentricity in the way we behave."

He said he had apologised for anything that might have upset Mrs Durrant, although they had done nothing wrong.

After pressure from Mrs Moulding, the council has agreed to take legal action against the couple. It is trying to get an injunction to stop them from approaching the pensioner. It hopes to get a tough ruling that will mean the couple could be arrested if they break the injunction.

"This couple have bullied and threatened other people in the flats but no-one dare say anything," said Mrs Moulding. "My mother has been terrorised by these people. They shouldn't be able to get away with it.

"It's driven her to despair. It's an horrendous situation. No old person should have to live with this."

Mrs Durrant's nightmare began shortly after she moved to the flats last summer. She became friendly with Susan Greenwood but things quickly began to go wrong.

"After a couple of weeks this woman's mood changed completely," said Mrs Moulding. "She's began asking my mum for money.

"Her and the man she's with were arguing all the time, throwing stuff around and making a terrible noise all night. Once she forced her way into my mother's flat and refused to move.

"Another time she was banging on my mother's door shouting 'I'm going to get you.'

"We've called in the police but they say they can't do anything."

Mrs Moulding, who has kept a diary of all the horrors her mother has had to endure, enlisted the help of Pendle MP Gordon Prentice in her battle to get some action.

Andrew Howcroft, housing contracts manager with the council, said: "We are aware of the problems and we are endeavouring to seek an injunction against the perpetrators."

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