A MAN involved in a row with his neighbours refused to pay a fixed penalty of £80 because he wanted his day in court, he told Ely magistrates. I could have paid the fine and this would not have come to court, said Nicholas Negus. I am seeing the police

A MAN involved in a row with his neighbours refused to pay a fixed penalty of £80 because he wanted his day in court, he told Ely magistrates.

"I could have paid the fine and this would not have come to court," said Nicholas Negus. "I am seeing the police about it all later today."

Negus, 52, of Coopers Close, Stetchworth, indicated a guilty plea to a charge of threatening behaviour, and refused to be bound over to keep the peace rather than face a criminal charge.

Prosecutor Matthew Bradbury said Negus disturbed his neighbours George Urwin and his fiancée Anita on December 2 last year, when he turned up on their doorstep and shouted abuse.

"I have no doubt that Negus has a grievance," he said. "I am content to concede there may have been some name-calling."

Negus, representing himself in court, said he had made the Urwins welcome when they moved in to Cooper's Close.

But, he told magistrates, police had been alerted to problems between the two families.

Because of discrepancies over the details of the family dispute, the court adjourned the case until May 28 for further inquiries to be made.