A pensioner has avoided jail after she sprayed ant poison into her terminally ill neighbour’s eyes over a parking row and told him ‘no one would believe him’ because she was elderly.
Sally Beaney, 75, ‘revelled in making other people’s lives very difficult’ and robbed her cancer-stricken neighbour Matthew Perry of ‘precious’ years after they were embroiled in a dispute over a shared driveway.
What started as a parking dispute turned into Beaney’s ‘obsession to control’ the parking situation outside their homes and ‘culminated’ in her spraying ant-killer in her neighbour’s eyes.
Mr Perry, who has ‘late-stage cancer‘, was left with swelling on his eye from ‘minor chemical burns’ and a ‘mild corneal injury’, a court heard.
But Beaney taunted her victim that nobody would believe him, because she was a ’75-year-old woman’, while he was a ‘young 6ft1in man’.
The pensioner admitted causing assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Mr Perry in Southampton on October 13 2025.
Beaney appeared at Southampton Crown Court where she was handed a 12-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to work unpaid for 100 hours.
She also had a restraining order imposed.
The court heard that Mr Perry moved into the address next door to Beaney with his wife Lucy and their two children around 15 years ago.
Prosecutor Gaylene Coles said: ‘Mr Perry and (Beaney) are neighbours who share a driveway.
‘For 15 years he believed he could park by the property.
‘In June 2025 there was an issue between them with a lawnmower. After that notices began to appear about parking in the wrong place.
‘He realised his mistake and parked in the road.
‘She began to block his parking and would leave objects out to block his parking.
‘She would leave plant pots out throughout the summer months.’
Sally Beaney, 75, ‘revelled in making other people’s lives very difficult’ and robbed her cancer-stricken neighbour Matthew Perry of ‘precious’ years after they were embroiled in a dispute
The court heard that victim Matthew Perry moved into the address next door to Beaney with his wife Lucy and their two children around 15 years ago.
Beaney taunted her victim that nobody would believe him, because she was a ’75-year-old woman’, while he was a ‘young 6ft1in man’.
Beaney would also film the family from her home and would shout at them as they came and went, the court heard.
Her antisocial behaviour escalated on October 13 2025, when, out of the blue, she sprayed ant-killer in Mr Perry’s eyes as he left the home.
Mr Perry was rushed to hospital where he was told he had minor chemical burns to his eyes and needed to take antibiotics and pain killers.
Speaking about his ordeal at the sentencing hearing, Mr Perry said: ‘It’s difficult to write this as admitting that Sally Beaney has had such an impact on our lives is exactly what we believe she wants to happen.
‘She’s told us before that nobody will believe us because she’s a 75 year old woman and I’m a young 6ft 1ins man.
‘I woke up with pain every morning for months and had to use antibiotics. If I did not have first aid training I wouldn’t have had treatment straight away, I would’ve had to wait for the ambulance to arrive and the damage would have been a lot worse.
‘She is someone so obsessed and erratic that she’s impacted every aspect of our lives. The last years of our lives have been taken from us.
‘A home should be a sanctuary but even coming and going has been ruined.
‘If she’s willing to assault me, what could she do to my young son if he did something she didn’t like?
‘The stress of dealing with her has led me to have a catastrophic terminal cancer diagnosis. I was told if it had been noticed earlier it could have been treated but I didn’t have the time to think about it.
‘We feel totally trapped. We’ve been waiting for what she’ll do next. Even after being charged she has continued.
‘My partner leaves the house recording on her phone in case she does something.
‘Before Sally Beaney started her campaign against us we were a happy hopeful family. She’s left our property unsellable. It’s a catastrophic impact on any family.
‘Due to her behaviour we inquired with past neighbours and even her family and they said this was normal for her. They said she revelled in making other people’s lives very difficult.’
Defending Beaney, Edward Armitage said: ‘In essence this is a dispute between two neighbours that has very regrettably spilled over into something more. She’s asked me to apologise on her behalf.’
Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Rowland said: ‘You have no previous convictions. For some reason you have waited until this age to commit this offence.
‘Obviously this case calls for a prison sentence – the only question is whether I suspend it. And it seems that due to the guidelines I have no option but to suspend it, but it is very serious.’


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