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A woman died after being beaten by a female neighbour and her father for puncturing a child's football when it landed in her garden, a court has heard.

Kelly Machin's body was discovered on the sofa of her semi-detached house in Waldwick Close, Leicester Forest East, on the afternoon of September 5.

The 34-year-old died from injuries she suffered when she was assaulted by her next-door-but-one neighbour, Natalie Bollen, and Bollen' s father, William Gary Jelly, on August 23, Leicester Crown Court heard.

Bollen and Jelly had stormed into Miss Machin's house and attacked her in retaliation for Miss Machin damaging Bollen's children's football when it landed on her lawn, the prosecution claimed.

Miss Machin punctured the ball before throwing it back over the fence of their adjacent gardens.

She suffered five displaced rib fractures that ultimately led to her internally bleeding to death, shortly before she was due to have an operation, the court was told.

Bollen, 28, and Jelly, 48, of Thorpe Astley, both deny the manslaughter of Miss Machin.

William Harbage QC, prosecuting, said: "She died alone and in pain with significant breathing problems.

"The injuries were caused when she was assaulted by the two defendants nearly two weeks before her body was discovered.

"The defendants burst into her home and unlawfully attacked her, acting together.

"Bollen punched her three times to the head and her father punched or pushed Miss Machin, causing her to fall over with her left back ribcage crashing down onto a coffee table, causing broken ribs.

"These two defendants are responsible for the consequences and her death, amounting to manslaughter."

He told the jurors: "You might conclude Kelly Machin's life might have been saved, but it doesn't excuse these two defendants from criminal responsibility for their actions."

Mr Harbage said that Miss Machin, who lived at the house for 18 months, was an alcoholic and "you may think vulnerable".

She sometimes relied on others for support, including good friend Winston Hinds, and her mother.

Mr Harbage said: "Miss Machin began having problems with Natalie Bollen.

"She was concerned about excessive noise made by Ms Bollen's children and their balls regularly appearing in her garden.

"On August 23, a ball belonging to Bollen's children appeared in Miss Machin's garden, and rather than just returning it, punctured it before returning it.

"It may appear to be rather petty, and it doesn't excuse what happened when she was assaulted."

A 999 call was played in court when "scared" Miss Machin rang for help at 6.32pm, as a group of women, including Bollen, allegedly began hammering on her door.

Miss Machin is heard sobbing whilst telling the call handler that about 10 women were outside saying they wanted to kill her, and that she needed "the police here quick".

Miss Machin's friend Mr Hinds arrived in his car and, he told the jury, was "flagged down" by Bollen, who "said Kelly had burst her kids' ball".

He claimed Bollen threatened to either "bang her out" or "batter her".

Mr Hinds offered to speak to Miss Machin about it and went inside to find her in a "distressed state", and he tried to calm her.

He said that after about 15 minutes, the front door was banged and kicked about nine times before he opened it, to allegedly be confronted by Bollen and a man who said: "I'm the kids' granddad. Don't mess with this family."

Mr Hinds said: "He aggressively waved his fists around.

"They rushed the door, and Natalie went straight for Kelly, punching her head two or three times; she was dazed.

"The man came in aggressively and did the last punch to the side of Kelly's head. Being a man it was a lot harder and caused her to crash heavily onto the table and fall into a heap by the back door.

"I was in complete shock."

Bollen's mother, Tracey Bollen, was also present during the alleged assault, but played no part in the violence and is not being prosecuted, the court was told.

A second 999 call made during the alleged attack was played to the jury, with Jelly heard saying: "Don't cross me, I'm the worst f****** person to know."

Bollen was heard saying: "That's a f****** warning."

Miss Machin was heard crying after they left, and saying: "I've hurt my back. They've smashed my head up."

The court was told that as well as rib fractures, she had swelling and bruising to her face and neck area, with an abrasion on her lower back.

A paramedic attended and it was not thought necessary she go immediately to hospital, said Mr Harbage.

On August 28, five days after the alleged incident, Miss Machin attended hospital.

X-rays showed displaced segments of ribs and some bleeding in her chest cavity that did not require emergency intervention, but she was told she would need an operation, and that if the situation worsened to call an ambulance.

Mr Hinds told the jury Miss Machin complained about being in pain in the days that followed, but he did not realise how seriously hurt she was.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she had three-and-a-half pints of blood in her pleural chest cavity.

Mr Hinds found her dead on the sofa when he became concerned after not hearing from her for a couple of days and her mother asked him to check on her daughter.

He tried to resuscitate her but the ambulance crew told him she had probably been dead for 48 hours.

Mr Harbage said that when initially arrested on August 23 for assault, Bollen "lied about the presence" of her father during the incident but admitted going to Miss Machin's house and punching her in the face two or three times, claiming that Miss Machin had "pulled" her into the house – a claim which Mr Hinds refuted.

In a later interview, Bollen said she acted in self-defence.

Jelly was arrested on September 6, the day after Miss Machin was found dead.

He said he went to see his daughter over the "issue of the punctured ball" on August 23, and claimed Miss Machin was the aggressor who had pulled his daughter into the house and grabbed her hair.

Jelly claimed Miss Machin "slipped over" onto the coffee table and that he "did not touch her" in any way.

The court heard that three days before allegedly being attacked, Miss Machin fell off her bicycle and hurt her stomach, which the prosecution alleged was unrelated to the fatal rib fractures she sustained.

The trial continues.