A leading Midland councillor fighting the scourge of neighbours from hell was once convicted of battering the man next door with a wooden plank. John Lines, 59, is the new Conservative head of housing at Birmingham City Council. A vital part of his £42,000-a-year job is tackling anti-social behaviour by council tenants who can make the lives of neighbours a misery. But back in May 1983, Coun Lines was convicted of assaulting a businessman in a row over a greenhouse. The then fledgling councillor was fined £200 by Birmingham magistrates, who were told how he hit his elderly neighbour's son-in-law Thomas Denny across the back with a stick. He followed up the attack by holding Mr Denny by the throat on the ground. The court heard how his victim suffered a bruised shoulder, headaches and dizziness for a week after the attack. Coun Lines was also bound over in the sum of £100 to keep the peace for a year. Married Mr Lines became a councillor for Bartley Green in 1982 - and has cut a colourful and controversial figure ever since. He was nominated for mayor in 2000 but was rejected by Labour and Liberal Democrats for being too right-wing for multi-cultural Birmingham. But he was made cabinet member for housing when the Tories and Lib Dems took control of the city council after 20 years of Labour rule at the local elections in June. Bragging that the council would issue so many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders "they would be like confetti", he said recently: "People have a right to be protected from the harassment of neighbours from hell. "We will work together to ensure that the high level of anti-social behaviour in Birmingham becomes a thing of the past." Last night his victim admitted he was amazed that his attacker had been given responsibility for tackling anti-social behaviour in the city. Mr Denny, who runs his own office business, said: "My wife and I have seen him on the local news talking about these issues. "I don't consider him to be a very nice man. He attacked me when I went to talk to him about my mother-in-law's greenhouse. "She lived next door to John Lines in Bartley Green. She had let him put his greenhouse in her garden but he put her through an awful time and in the end she wanted nothing to do with him. "I told him he had to move the greenhouse but he said the land was now his and he was invoking squatters' rights. "I told him he'd have to move it or I would, and I kicked the greenhouse. I know that was provocative but I'd had enough of him by that stage. "I walked off but he came after me and hit me over the head with a plank of wood. I was on the ground barely conscious when he got on top of me and started throttling me." Mr Denny's wife Pam claimed that the councillor was sometimes abusive to her elderly mother, Evelyn Foster. "She was called names over the fence," she said. "Her bins were stuffed with rubbish until they were overflowing. Old brake pads were pushed through her letterbox. "After the court case, things got worse. We moved my mother to a flat near us but she died six months later. She had a heart problem and I think all these problems contributed to her decline. "In the end my mum was frightened even to go outside." When challenged by the Sunday Mercury Coun Lines vehemently denied ever harassing Mrs Foster. "I looked after that woman," he said. "I did her garden, I did everything for her. I'm very hurt by these accusations." And the council chief insisted that he was the right man for the job despite his conviction. "What happened was 22 years ago and I have been punished for it," he said. "I think my experience over the years, including the assault, has helped to make me the best person for the job. "I am going to ensure that our tenants get a better deal than people did 20 years ago. Lots of people make mistakes and I have made plenty over the years. "But I was just defending my property. I think everyone in Birmingham has the right to do that. "The anti-social behaviour units we now have help people sort out their disputes before they get out of hand. Sadly they weren't about 20 years ago." jeanette_oldham@mrn.co.uk | 
