A 75-year-old woman who sprayed ant-killer into her terminally ill neighbour’s eyes during a dispute over parking has avoided immediate imprisonment.
Sally Beaney admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Matthew Perry in Southampton on 13 October 2025. At Southampton Crown Court, she was given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years, ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and made subject to a restraining order.
The court heard that the disagreement began after Mr Perry and his family, who had lived next door to Beaney for around 15 years, fell out over a lawnmower and the use of a shared driveway.
Prosecutor Gaylene Coles said notices about parking began appearing, while Beaney allegedly blocked spaces and left objects, including plant pots, in the way. She also filmed the family from her home and shouted at them as they came and went, the court was told.
The dispute escalated when Beaney sprayed ant-killer into Mr Perry’s eyes as he left his home. He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with minor chemical burns, swelling and a mild corneal injury. He required antibiotics and painkillers.
Mr Perry told the sentencing hearing that Beaney had previously said nobody would believe him because she was a 75-year-old woman and he was a “young 6ft 1ins man”.
He said: “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.”
Mr Perry, who has late-stage cancer, said the family’s life had been dominated by the dispute and that his home no longer felt like a sanctuary.
“The last years of our lives have been taken from us,” he said. “If she’s willing to assault me, what could she do to my young son if he did something she didn’t like?”
He said the stress had contributed to the impact of his terminal cancer diagnosis, adding that the family felt “totally trapped”. He also claimed Beaney’s behaviour had continued after she was charged and that his partner recorded herself when leaving the house.
Defending Beaney, Edward Armitage said the case was “a dispute between two neighbours that has very regrettably spilled over into something more” and told the court she had asked him to apologise on her behalf.
Passing sentence, Judge Nicholas Rowland said Beaney had no previous convictions but described the offence as very serious.
“Obviously this case calls for a prison sentence – the only question is whether I suspend it,” he said. “And it seems that due to the guidelines I have no option but to suspend it, but it is very serious.”
