A 73-year-old Cotswolds landowner accused of driving his car into a neighbour at 25-30mph - causing injuries to his hand and knee - has been cleared of assault by a jury at Gloucester Crown Court.

The prosecution at Cirencester Courthouse alleged that the incident on October 5 last year was the culmination of a neighbour's dispute arising from Frank Kennedy constantly playing loud music at his home at Didbrook Fields Farm, Toddington.

Neighbour Mark Taylor told the jury that on that date Mr Kennedy deliberately drove into him outside his house, rolling him onto the bonnet and causing inuries to his hand, fingers and left knee as well as ripping his trousers.

But Mr Kennedy denied that anything of the kind happened and alleged that Mr Taylor had hurt himself while trying to pull off his car's wing mirror when he drove past him that evening.

Mr Kennedy denied assaulting Mr Taylor causing him actual bodily harm on October 5, 2021 and at the end of a two-day trial, the jury found him not guilty.

Prosecutor Sue Cavender told the jury that there had been "some dificulty between neighbours in this very small hamlet for some time".

"On 5th October Mr Tayor, known as Ozzie, came out of his house because he could hear loud music coming from Mr Kennedy's property," said Ms Cavender. "He saw Mr Kennedy about to drive away in his car and was not able to speak to him.

"He came out of his home again later and bumped into another neighbour, Jacqueline Rowlands, who was putting out her bins.

"He asked her if she could hear the loud music and they were standing talking when Mr Kennedy came back in his car. Mr Taylor stood in the lane to try to stop Mr Kennedy and speak to him.

"Mr Kennedy did not slow down. If anything, he speeded up somewhat and he hit Mr Taylor with the driver's side of his car.

"Mr Taylor rolled onto the bonnet and then off again, damaging the wing mirror in the process. Mr Kennedy drove off into one of his fields and stopped there.

"Mr Taylor was fortunately not badly injured. He got up and went into the field to speak to Mr Kennedy - but Mr Kennedy drove away again.

"The police were called. Mr Taylor had scratches on his hand, fingers and knee.

"When interviewed by the police, Mr Kennedy gave a lengthy explanation about the difficulties there had been with the residents of the locality. He said he had not driven at Mr Taylor and that Mr Taylor had grabbed his wing mirror as he drove past him."

In evidence, Mr Taylor said he had lived in his cottage at the farm for eight years and relationships with Mr Kennedy had been good at first but had deteriorated when Mr Kennedy went through a divorce.

"My partner was friends with his ex-wife and I feel for that reason we bore the brunt of Mr Kennedy's anger," he said.

"There would be loud music playing from Mr Kennedy's barn for 3-4 days at a time. He also had an antique bell going off in there. It was attached to a movement sensor. It's been a bit of a constant nuisance. He just leaves the music on for days. The noise is just an insidious drip, drip, drip..."

He said that on October 5, he was outside his home putting out bins and doing other chores and heard Mr Kennedy's car start up so he thought he would confront him.

"He came at high speed from his house onto the drive," he stated. "I stood in the middle of the drive. He stopped in front of me but as I walked around to talk to him he drove off at a rate of knots."

Later, he said, he was outside his house again and saw neighbour Ms Rowlands putting out the rubbish so he went to ask her if she could also hear the noise from the barn.

As they approached the barn Mr Kennedy appeared in his car and drove towards them, he said.

"I decided to stand in front of the car again but he just carried on. It was going fast and to me the speed was unacceptable.

"I was hoping he would stop so I could chat with him but he just carried on at a high rate of knots. I went over the bonnet and down the right hand side, the driver's side. It seemed a high impact to me. I rolled forward and landed on my knee and shoulder.

"The car drove off. I got up real quick and chased him into the field. He saw me and drove off again to another part of the fields. I went back to my house to put some boots on because I had lost my footwear, some sandals which fell off on impact.

"I went back into the field and he was in his car with no lights on. He was hiding. I crept around the back of his car went to the side and tapped on the window. It startled him and then he drove off again. I believe he left the premises.

"I went back to Jacqueline's house and waited for the police to arrive."

He said he suffered a gash on the hand, a cut finger and injury to his left knee and his jogging bottoms were ripped.

Steve Young, defending, suggested to Mr Taylor that the first alleged encounter between him and Mr Kennedy that night had not happened at all and that it was untrue he had been hit by the car or rolled onto the bonnet during the second encounter.

The lawyer also suggested that Mr Taylor's estimate of the car doing 25-30mph was exaggerated and wrong.

"I suggest he stopped and you walked around to the side of his car and hit out and struck his wing mirror, damaging it," said Mr Young.

"Absolutely not," said Mr Taylor.  "The guy almost killed me."

In evidence, Ms Rowlands supported Mr Taylor's account of what happened and said when she saw Mr Kennedy's car approaching it was "clearly going very fast".

"Mr Taylor walked into the path of the car with his hand up as if to ask the driver to stop," she said. "The car didn't seem to slow down. I called to Ozzie to move out of the way.

"I didn't want to be hit so I backed into the garden. The vehicle continued seemingly at the same speed. It went by and I heard a thwack as though the bonnet had been hit and then a rolling sound.

"It was Mr Taylor rolling down the side of the vehicle. I went straight into the house to call the police."

She said it was hard to estimate the car's speed but she believed it was "well over 30mph".

She was certain the car did not stop before the impact, she said in answer to questions from Mr Young.

"It did not stop or slow down at all on that track," she added.

Addressing the jury, Mr Young said “There was no damage to the front of Mr Kennedy’s car. There was no damage to the bonnet or the windscreen.

“How does that square with a man being struck in the front in a vehicle travelling at 25 to 30 miles per hour?"

He argued that if events had occurred as alleged by the prosecution Mr Taylor's injuries would have been worse.

"These injuries are minor cuts and scrapes to the palm of his hand and a finger, along with grazing to his knee," said Mr Young.

“I submit on behalf of Mr Kennedy that these injuries are entirely consistent with Mr Taylor falling over and striking the ground, a concrete driveway. These grazes and cuts did not require medical attention and he didn’t go to hospital or attend his GP clinic.

"Are these injuries consistent with being run over by being struck by a car head on, travelling at a speed of between 25 and 30 miles an hour?

“All the car drivers in the jury will know that travelling at between 25 and 30 miles an hour is not a slow speed. It is a speed at which striking somebody head-on is likely to cause significant injuries. "