A neighbour dispute ended up with one man suffering a fracture to his back after being forced off the road following a chase, a court has heard. 

Kevin Wright, 43, and the victim lived next door to each other in Fakenham and had a "history of mutual antagonism".

Norwich Crown Court heard things came to a head on July 6 2022 when there was a "confrontation" between the two.

Norwich Crown CourtNorwich Crown Court (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest) Martin Ivory, prosecuting, said that later that day Wright's son followed the victim from his home in Fakenham onto the A1065 at Hempton.

At this point Wright caught up and overtook his son and the victim and "virtually pulled in front of him".

The victim was forced to swerve to avoid a collision but "clipped" Wright's car causing him to "spin and roll".

The crash wrote off the victim's car and left him with a fracture in his back, which was painful and affected his mobility. 

Mr Ivory insisted it was "quite plainly an unsafe manoeuvre" by Wright.

Wright, of Silverlands Close, Fakenham, appeared at court on Wednesday (October 2) after admitting causing serious injury by careless driving.

Judge Andrew Shaw says it had been an "unsafe manoeuvre" by Wright, forcing the victim to take evasive action.

But he recognised there was remorse and mental health issues.

Wright received an 18 month community order which included a 12 month mental health treatment requirement and up to 10 days Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR).

He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months. 

Oliver Haswell, mitigating, said the manoeuvre carried out by Wright was "clearly wrong".

He said there had been animosity between Wright's son and the victim but the defendant was taking active steps to move.

He said he has received a diagnosis of autism and has battled depression and hopes now to receive support.