A RETIRED army captain intends to lodge a formal complaint against the police - following attempts to prosecute him over a £7.49 neighbour dispute.
Criminal charges against Tim Hallam, who denied causing damage after cutting the top off a wooden fence post, have been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service due to 'insufficient evidence'.
Mr Hallam, of Thurgoland Bank, Thurgoland, disagrees with a neighbour about whose land the post, which would cost £7.49 to repair, is on.
The 55-year-old, who served in Bosnia and Kosovo, said the experience had been stressful but, given some of the things he had dealt with during his military career, it was 'water off a duck's back'.
Chris Hartley, senior district crown prosecutor, said Mr Hallam was charged with criminal damage by South Yorkshire Police, not the CPS.
"We asked the police to provide us with a full file of evidence," he said. "Careful review of the file identified further lines of enquiry which were explored by the police.
"This revealed a report from a surveyor who had been instructed by the victim over the boundary issue. This report indicated that the fence post was 25cm onto Mr Hallam’s land. This meant that Mr Hallam was within his rights to take steps to remove the fence post.
"As a result of this information there was insufficient evidence and the case had to be stopped."
District Judge John Foster attacked the CPS when the case was initially taken to court last month, branding the decision to prosecute 'crackers' and 'nonsense'.
Mr Hallam said he now plans to submit a grievance against the police and the case will be subject to a civil hearing between the neighbours.
