I warned cops about neighbour BEFORE he attacked shop OAP

'Unhinged' thug targeted victim, 84, after terrorising Justine

- BY GEMMA RYDER

A MUM has hit out after she warned police about her “unhinged” neighbour for months before he launched a vicious murder bid on an 84-year-old shopkeeper.

Justine Hardie, of Inverness, said Richard Wilson made her life “a living hell” on Birchwood Brae from 2022 to 2023.

Wilson, 28, would bang on walls so hard the house “shook”, blast music 24/7, threaten family and friends who were visiting with weapons, and abuse Justine while she was heavily pregnant with her now two-year-old son, James.

Justine, 33, says she contacted police and Highland Council countless times, desperately trying to get help for over a year before he was removed from the property in November 2023.

Just a few months later, he unleashed a brutal attack on an elderly man working in a local shop on March 12, 2024. He punched the man 18 times and stamped on his head. The victim was left with serious injuries and suffered a bleed on the brain.

Justine believes the attack could have been avoided if authorities had taken her warnings seriously.