Mother and daughter guilty of sending abusive Facebook messages claiming an innocent vicar was a PAEDOPHILE and threatening to kill a neighbour’s granddaughter

Lynne Portues, 54, and Natalie Veart, 21, targeted their local community

Veart threatened to kill their neighbours' eight-month-old granddaughter

She also sent Facebook messages claiming a local vicar was a paedophile

Portues made 22 hoax 999 calls to Cleveland Police in just four days.



A mother and daughter have been found guilty of subjecting their neighbours to a bizarre hate campaign, including falsely accusing the local vicar of being a paedophile and threatening to kill an eight-month-old baby.

Lynne Portues, 54, and Natalie Veart, 21, targeted various people and businesses in their community with online abuse and made dozens of hoax 999 calls.

The pair even harassed the local magistrates, who had to trial them in absentia after they refused to stop chanting and were thrown out of a Hartlepool court.

Hate campaign: Lynne Portues, 54, and Natalie Veart, 21, from Hartlepool threatened their neighbours, falsely accused a local vicar of paedophilia and made hoax calls to the police

Veart, from Hartlepool, sent Facebook messages to Seaton Carew Golf Club and church-goer Sarah Baker on July 22 last year claiming innocent Father Paul Allinson was involved in paedophilia.

Just a week later she stormed round to next-door neighbours Anne Holland and Stephen Paul and said she would kill their eight-month-old granddaughter.

Mr Paul told the court how he heard Veart shouting through the walls that she was going to get his granddaughter and kill her.

He said: ‘It made me sick to my stomach, for somebody to threaten an eight-month-old baby who can’t defend itself - it was disgusting.’

His partner Ms Holland, 52, said she called the police and held the phone up so that they could hear the threats that were being shouted at her family.

Under attack: Father Paul Allinson, pictured, was subjected to 21-year-old Veart's hatred when she sent Facebook messages to Seaton Carew Golf Club and a church-goer claiming he was a paedophilie

During police interviews Veart continually referred to her neighbours as ‘scum, chavs, and anti-social vermin’.

When challenged about her threat to kill the baby she replied: ‘Do I look like a murderer to you? I can’t even drive, what sort of kidnapper would I make?’

During the same week of Veart’s verbal attack of their neighbours, her mother made 22 unnecessary 999 calls to Cleveland Police in just four days.

She claimed her daughter had been assaulted and they were too afraid to leave their homes, but also made up bizarre fake ‘emergencies’ about sandwiches and her dog.

Magistrates were forced to trial the duo in their absence after they refused to stop chanting about ‘not recognising the law of the land’ and were thrown out of court.

Baffling: Portues and Veart had to be removed from Hartlepool Magistrates Court during their trial as they refused to stop interrupting proceedings

Despite the false accusation, Father Paul said he forgave Veart - and even wanted to help the pair.

Speaking after the hearing at Hartlepool Magistrates Court he said: ‘As a clergyman all I’ve ever tried to do is be supportive and caring and try to help the two people involved.

‘Despite the pain and sadness it caused to myself, I have to continue to try to be forgiving and maintain standards that I should hold as a Christian.’

Veart was found guilty of sending by public communication network a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, and also of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.

Portues was found guilty of persistently making use of a public communications network for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.