A neighbour who accused a married couple of being paedophiles during a seven year campaign of hate has been jailed.

Johnathon Warner-Johnson, 52, bombarded the couple, who lived in the same street in Beckenham, south London, with more than 200 hate letters.

He sent cruel letters about a family relative with Down's syndrome, damaged cars and threw rubbish in their back garden and sprayed weedkiller in the front garden.

Warner-Johnson also sent hate letters to himself in a bid to cover his tracks.

His neighbours confided in him their anguish and upset, unaware he was behind the campaign.

But the couple set up a CCTV camera which caught him pouring weed killer over plants and the lawn last July.

And police who were first alerted to the letters in 2009 became suspicious last June when a letter was received purporting to be from another neighbour.

The writing matched the previous letters and information in the letter had only been shared with Warner-Johnson. He was charged in April with one count of criminal damage and two counts of stalking and he was jailed for 28 months after pleading guilty at Croydon Crown Court last week.

He was also handed a 20-year restraining order and ordered to pay £1,959 compensation £2,800 for each year of the harassment.

Scotland Yard do not know what drove Warner-Johnson to carry out the crime.

Detective Constable Liz Truan, Bromley CID said: 'Over a seven-year period, Warner-Johnson launched a calculated malicious campaign against his neighbours.

'His hate campaign brought significant alarm and distress to them over a prolonged period and it is right he has been jailed and handed such a long restraining order.