A North London woman allegedly launched a “genuinely out of control” crutch attack on her neighbor after being confronted for destroying a wisteria plant, a trial at Highbury Magistrates’ Court has heard.
Rosie Shead, Press Association
14:49, 31 Mar 2026Updated 16:14, 31 Mar 2026
Atidel Boutara Cook leaving Highbury Magistrates’ Court, north London, where she is charged with assaulting Pei Wong, her upstairs neighbour
A “genuinely out of control” woman hit her neighbour with her crutch after she was allegedly caught destroying a wisteria plant, a court has heard.
Atidel Boutara Cook is charged with criminal damage after allegedly destroying a wisteria plant belonging to her upstairs neighbour Pei Wong and assaulting her on December 17 last year, in Tottenham, North London.
The 50-year-old, who denies both offences, called Ms Wong a “f***ing bitch” and hit her once on the forehead and twice on the chest with her crutch after being confronted about cutting down the plant, a trial at Highbury Magistrates’ Court heard.
Ms Wong said her husband had seen Boutara Cook cutting down the wisteria and pulling out other plants in the front garden as he returned home from work that evening. The couple, who said they usually do not interact with the defendant, went downstairs together to confront their neighbour, with Ms Wong filming the encounter on her phone, the court heard on Tuesday.
Pei Wong leaving Highbury Magistrates’ Court, north London, where Atidel Boutara Cook is charged with assaulting Ms Wong, her upstairs neighbour, and damaging her wisteria plant in Tottenham, north London on December 17 last year.
Giving evidence, Louis Scott, Ms Wong’s husband said: “We went to the porch of the front door of the property and we asked our neighbour to… I forget exactly what we said but in calm polite terms ‘please could you stop what you were doing’ and said that we weren’t happy with what she was doing.
“We didn’t approach her.” He added: “When she noticed my wife was filming her, she seemed to rather lose control of herself, started screaming abuse and waving her arms, she grabbed my wife’s phone.
“She also then came up to my wife and struck her a number of times with her crutch.
“I was genuinely worried for my wife’s safety at this point because the behaviour of our neighbour seemed genuinely out of control,” Mr Scott said, adding that he “caught” his wife as she fell backwards after being struck.
Asked how she felt at the time of the alleged attack, Ms Wong said: “I would say that I was shaking.
“I will let you know that I couldn’t believe that she repeatedly continued to hit me even though I didn’t say a single word to her.”
The court was told both the defendant and the alleged victim had lived in the building on Stanhope Gardens in Tottenham, north London, for around 20 years.
Ms Wong told the court she and her husband owned the freehold of the building and had bought the leasehold to the first and second floors.
The couple, who are both architects, said the defendant had right of access to use the front garden to reach the property and for storing her bins.
Put to her by Bilal Miah, defending, that Boutara Cook had previously asked the couple to maintain the wisteria as it was causing damp in her property, Ms Wong said: “The defendant never asked us, never in writing.”
She added: “No, the defendant never spoke to me, never ever I talk to the defendant.
“The defendant never talks to us never ever, it’s always go to the legal, the lawyers, we never received any letters about the wisteria plants or any other plants causing her problems.”
Mr Miah suggested to Ms Wong that it was she and her husband who had attacked Boutara Cook, to which she replied: “‘I didn’t assault her, I didn’t scratch her.
“The defendant come to me and with her crutch she hit me.”
Boutara Cook, who attended the court with what appeared to be a red walking frame, was told twice by District Judge Oliver not to interrupt while her neighbours gave evidence.
The trial continues.
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