A disabled writer has admitted to tormenting his former neighbours through excessive noise after previously being convicted of stalking them.
David Aston, 57, pleaded guilty to repeatedly blasting loud music from his residence, acknowledging the threatening nature of his behaviour.
The admission follows his and his wife Jacqueline's conviction last year for conducting a three-year harassment campaign against multiple households in an upmarket North Berwick development.
The couple's systematic persecution of their neighbours included daily surveillance and malicious complaints to authorities.
A disabled writer has admitted to tormenting his former neighbours through excessive noise after previously being convicted of stalking them
| WIKIMEDIAMr Aston, who suffered brain injuries and a stroke following a road accident eleven years ago, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.
Jacqueline Aston, a 59-year-old former staff nurse, attempted to destroy neighbour Catriona Henderson's teaching career by filing false allegations with the General Teaching Council for Scotland.
She accused the educator of child neglect, drug use, including crystal meth and laughing gas, and claimed Ms Henderson had left a child outside in winter without proper clothing.
The malicious reports extended to Ms Henderson's partner, Stuart McMorris, whom Jacqueline Aston falsely reported for operating an unauthorised business from his residence.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Jacqueline Aston attempted to destroy neighbour Catriona Henderson's teaching career by filing false allegations with the General Teaching Council for Scotland
|GETTY
The couple filmed their neighbours almost daily, with court proceedings revealing they had created 248 recordings of one family, including 67 instances in a single day.
Robert Bain, 65, told the court: "We moved to North Berwick to our dream home to retire to, but the dream has turned to a nightmare."
His wife Marie, 68, described how the Astons made her existence "a misery" through their relentless surveillance, recording her "almost on a daily basis".
The constant monitoring forced the Bains to abandon hosting family gatherings in their garden.
Mr Bain characterised the behaviour as "stalking" and said he was eventually forced to cancel family gatherings in their garden.
The local council received 140 complaints from Mr and Mrs Aston about Ms Henderson's family within just five months in 2019.
Sheriff Cook determined the harassment "involved planning" and inflicted "very serious distress and significant psychological harm" on the victims.
Mrs Aston received 300 hours of community service, must pay £8,000 compensation to the affected families and faces a 15-year ban from contacting the victims or entering Blackadder Crescent.
Mr Aston received three years' supervision, must pay £2,000 compensation to Ms Henderson and Mr McMorris, and wear an electronic tag with a 6pm to 6am curfew for eight months.
He also resigned from his positions with several charities, including the Head and Brain Injury charity.
Both received non-harassment orders, forcing them to sell their £500,000 four-bedroom property and relocate to Peebles.