PENSIONER KILLED NEIGHBOUR’S KOI OVER POND NOISE, OWES £565
A retired builder fed up with koi pond noise poured detergent into his neighbour’s pond, killing fish, and has now been ordered to pay for the damage.
Gerry Duffy, 76, of Hadley Road in Barnet, north London, carried out the last of his attacks on the pond of neighbour Andreas Ptohides on March 26, 2026, The Sun reported.
His defence lawyer, Elliott Stern, told the court Duffy was “driven completely insane by this noise.”
“Out of sheer frustration and lack of sleep, Mr Duffy lost his mind,” Stern said.
What the court heard
The pond pump was the target of repeated complaints from Duffy, the BBC reported. The BBC also reported that he warned Ptohides he would take matters into his own hands.
Prosecutors told the court the warning was: “if you didn’t deal with it, I would.”
Stern said the neighbours had first talked about stopping the pump, then changed course. “They initially said they would stop the water pump going but then turned around and said that’s not good for the fish,” he told the court.
An environmental health officer also looked into the problem, The Sun reported. The officer told Duffy his options were to move or keep his window closed.
Then the damage began. Duffy climbed into Ptohides’ garden and wrecked the pond’s pump and pipes, the court heard. Motor oil went into the pond first, then the water pipes were cut, and finally came the detergent.
Ptohides reviewed CCTV footage after the damage, The Sun reported, and the footage showed Duffy getting into the garden. The koi carp that died numbered five or six, Court News UK reported.
Duffy said he damaged the pump out of frustration and lack of sleep, the BBC reported.
What happened next
Duffy had denied the charges at an earlier court appearance, People reported. He changed course on the day his trial was due to start at Willesden Magistrates’ Court.
On August 4, 2026, he pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal damage and to unlawfully destroying fish, Yahoo News Canada reported.
He was given a two-year conditional discharge, The Independent reported. The court also ordered him to pay Ptohides £565 in compensation.
In a later interview with The Sun, Duffy described his actions. “I hopped over his fence and initially threw things into his pond,” he said.
“I even tried using some Fairy Liquid just to lessen the noise,” he said.
Duffy said the plan backfired. The pond needed extra tubes, he told the paper, and it was noisier afterward.
