A 51-year-old Rishton woman who claimed to be a devout Christian subjected her next-door neighbour to racist abuse because he was Irish, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Kathleen Marianne Degg made a throat-cutting gesture towards her neighbour, emptied her bin into his yard and drew chalk arrows on the pavement pointing at his house next to the caption "Irish scum".

But Martin Jones, defending, said his client vehemently denied the allegations against her and intended to appeal once the case had been concluded at the magistrates court.

He said the "effing and jeffing" that had been attributed to his client was not the kind of language she would ever use.

"She is a Christian and lives her life in accordance with the Christian faith," said Mr Jones. "She sees herself as the victim in all this."

Her victim, John Patrick O'Brien, told police that he was at breaking point because of everything that was going on.

Degg, of Marsden Street, Accrington, was convicted after a trial of racially aggravated harassment.

She was made subject to a curfew order for 42 days, a restraining order for two years and ordered to pay £200 compensation to Mr O'Brien and £100 costs.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the offence went back to May 2004 when Degg lived in Rishton.

Over a period of months, Mr O'Brien was subjected to constant abuse and harassment, much of it relating to his nationality.

She said Degg repeatedly banged on the adjoining wall between their two homes and whenever she saw him called him "Irish scum" "rough gypsy" and "Irish dosser" and told him to get back to Ireland and take his "three brats" with him.

"Mr O'Brien said that all he wanted was a quiet life and he didn't know why she was picking on him," said Miss Allan.

"He spoke to his parish priest who said he would pray for him."