‘I moved my neighbour’s bin – he threatened to send ex-mercenary to destroy me’
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Lots of people have disagreements with their neighbours from time-to-time but for one man the situation appears to have gotten well out of hand after he was told an ex-mercenary would "destroy" him .
Joshua "Josh" Val Martin claims he had a barely legible note placed on the communal front door of the block to his two-bedroom flat on Sunday (June 4) morning just hours after moving the bins.
He alleges he's received homophobic death threats vowing to "end" and "destroy" him after moving a neighbour’s bin.
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It read: "To Mr Gay, if you move my bin I will put an end to you.
"You may find an ex merenary (sic) ex Royal MM (sic) may call on you not to have a chat but to destroy."
The 30-year-old writer and tour guide moved the bins – which he claims one neighbour has a particular obsession with – to look for a statue of Buddha, which keeps going missing and replaced it in "roughly" the same position.
Josh said the incident came following months of "curtain twitching" and passive-aggressive behaviour that both he and his partner have been subjected to since moving to the "middle class" and "leafy" part of Greater Manchester in March.
He explained: "I was living in Clayton beforehand which was really working class and never had any complaints.
"We got on with neighbours and it was great. This is at the other end of the spectrum – I knew there would be lots of rules and regulations.
"I was expecting egg and spoon races at the park and pub quizzes, but it’s lots of curtain twitching.
"I think we stand out and I think we’ve been watched – it makes you paranoid."
Josh and his partner – who does not wish to be named – said their treatment has "tainted" moving to the flat in the area of Heaton Moor.
He said the issues with one neighbour began shortly after they moved in, and put some outdoor furniture in the communal area of their block of flats.
It's thought this annoyed one neighbour who moved it without asking.
Josh later placed a £12 statue of Buddha outside the block, but it quickly vanished without explanation.
When he confronted the neighbour – who he said is very particular about the position of the bins – he initially denied it was him before admitting that he put the statue in the bin "to stop local teenage kids smashing it".
Josh retrieved it and placed it back outside his flat before finding that it had been damaged a few weeks later.
This constant back and forth continued for weeks until it disappeared for good at the weekend – prompting Josh to move to communal bins outside the block in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to find it.
They were not returned exactly how they were, and Josh believes this led to a neighbour sending him the abusive letter.
He said he's reported the incident to Greater Manchester Police who are investigating.
Speaking about the situation, he said: "It has tainted the flat for me.
"There were a few things beforehand and – looking at this note – I may speak to the landlady and say ‘I know the contract’s for 12 months but it feels to me like it’s not working out’.
"I don’t know how you move on to this. Can you have any kind of mediation when you get homophobic death threats?
"You can’t just say ‘sorry don’t worry about it’.
“I don’t want to speak to him, and I don’t know what really can be said.
"People must have had dealings with him before, but I just don’t know how he’s going to change – I just think that’s going to be who he is."
A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the force "is aware of this incident and following a number of lines of enquiry".
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