'Neighbour from hell' from Northwood Hills spared five-month prison sentence

Marano, who was cautioned previously for disturbing the two women, was ordered not to return to his home address and forced to stay in a bedsit in Uxbridge while the case continued.

In a plea for leniency, Hannah Van Den Berg, representing Marano, told Uxbridge Magistrates' Court that he was a desperately lonely man with no friends and very little distant family in England.

"He has found life in Britain difficult and spends much of his time alone, and suffers from what can be described as paranoia," she said.

"He is moving out of the area and has frequently said he is sorry and expressed regret about what he has done."

But District Judge Deborah Wright, who presided over Marano's trial, described his behaviour as a manipulative bid for attention.

She said: "There can be no question the constant noise at night disturbed the working life of the two professional women living next door and it was deliberately designed to disrupt them.

"I don't believe for a moment, having seen a psychiatric report, that you didn't understand what you were doing.

"This was a manipulative and spiteful attempt to obtain attention and you demonstrated very cruel behaviour to people that you decided should be punished by you, for not interacting with you in the way you wanted them to.

"Despite being cautioned previously you persisted and made the lives of the women hell and the distress you caused was despicable."

Marano, who says he suffers from brittle bone disease, was sentenced to a five-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and will be forbidden from returning to Wiltshire Lane, aside from one occasion when accompanied by police to collect his belongings.

District Judge Wright added: "This must act as a Sword of Damocles hanging over your head and if you break the conditions your prison sentence will almost certainly be activated."