A WOMAN battered her neighbour to death with a spade over a “visceral hatred” of her messy home, a court heard.

Debby Foxwell, 40, is alleged to have attacked Louise Lotz after blaming the state of the 64-year-old’s mid-terrace on why she could not sell her own house.

Foxwell, from Welwyn Garden City, Herts, is said to have seen red and bludgeoned her neighbour after years of bad feeling over "boundaries, bins and borders", a jury heard.

Ms Lotz was heard screaming "help me, help me" as she banged on another resident's door before she was allegedly battered by Foxwell on August 24 last year.

After the attack the defendant told her partner: “it’s over. I have done it”, St Albans Crown Court was told.

Prosecuting Alan Blake described the alleged assault as a “sustained, brutal and merciless".

He told the court: “At around 8pm on a late Summer’s day last year, after a day of tension and disputes over the fence, this defendant went to her shed in her back garden and picked up a spade.

'HELP ME, HELP ME'

“She walked through her house, number 10, and kicked open the door of number 8 in a furious rage. She used a spade to smash electrical items in the lounge before pursuing her neighbour, who made a run for safety.

“Louise Lotz got to the front door of number 6. Debby Foxwell caught her and repeatedly bludgeoned her with a spade, before causing catastrophic injuries to her head.”

He told the jury: “The sustained ferocity of the attack and the number of blows make it plain she intended to kill her and she succeed in doing so.”

Ms Lotz had lived in her house for many years and had a lodger, Liam Graham.

'SPADE ATTACK'

Mr Graham described the house as a "shambles" but said Foxwell's garden was "perfect".

He added: "Louise was a bit of a hoarder. The house was a mess. The rear garden was hardly tended to.”

Foxwell moved next door to Ms Lotz five years before the killing and friendly relations quickly turned sour.

Mr Blake said: “Initially relations were cordial, but they swiftly deteriorated. As so often in neighbours’ disputes, it began over petty matters: boundaries, bins, and borders.”

Louise was a bit of a hoarder. The house was a mess. The rear garden was hardly tended to.

On the evening of the killing, warehouse worker Mr Graham claimed he saw Foxwell pick up clay pots and throw them at the window and then swing the lawn mower at the door.

He said: “Debby had a spade in her hand. She said ‘Where is she?’ I said ‘Who?’ She said ‘You know who.’

“She was swinging the spade from side to side. She put the spade through a great big plasma TV and smashed a laptop into a million pieces.

Mr Graham said Foxwell then said: “There is the b***h” as Louise ran out of the house.

Foxwell turned the spade on its side and hit Ms Lutz four or five times, he told the court.

Mr Blake said: “I was close enough to hear everything. I was screaming at her to stop. I tried to intervene once. She turned and said ‘You best stay out of the way if you know what’s good for you.’”

Debby Foxwell denies murder but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.

The trial continues.

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