Dawlish News
A BIRD expert and wildlife officer for Natural England has been ordered to pay his neighbour £5,000 in compensation after beating him up for hiding his walking boots.
Ivan Lakin, 45, attacked his neighbour Ian Robinson after the prank went wrong, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Lakin confronted Mr Robinson after his muddy boots went missing from his doorstep.
He repeatedly punched him in the head and kicked him when he fell to the ground.
Lakin, a published author on birds in Dawlish Warren, is a wildlife officer for the government body Natural England.
The defendant, of Sea Lawn Terrace, Dawlish, admitted causing grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years, suspended for two years.
The court was told tensions had been rising between the pair for some time and Lakin eventually snapped.
He was ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work and pay £5,000 compensation together with surcharge and costs of £450.
