Howzat! Cricket legend's son wins £159,000 payout

Neighbour is caught out over house sale 'blackmail'

- By Paul Keogh

A SON of England cricket legend Colin Cowdrey has won £159,000 damages from a neighbour after she “blackmailed” him and ruined the sale of his £3.85million home.

Film producer Jeremy Cowdrey sued Vanessa Gibson over “lies” which he said had made his 10-acre Kent property unsellable.

She had bought a strip of land in Goudhurst which oddly meant she also owned part of his tennis court.

A row about that was settled outside of court — but when he tried to sell the house she sent a series of emails, including about the resolved dispute, jeopardising his sale. The buyers pulled out and Mr Cowdrey sued, accusing her of “terrorising” him, and he was awarded the sum at Central London County Court.

Judge Jane Evans-Gordon said that Mrs Gibson’s intention in her “oppressive” campaign was to try to extract “unreasonable sums” from Mr Cowdrey, 65, in order for his proposed sale to go through.

She added: “Mrs Gibson’s conduct went well beyond any proper promotion of her own interests and tipped over into a form of blackmail or maliciousness.”