A MOTHER who told her next door neighbour to “go back to her country” will sell her house in a bid to leave the “bad blood” behind.

Shay Preston, 55, had denied racially abusing her neighbour outside her home - but was convicted following trial.

Kayte Donnelly, prosecuting at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, said Preston hurled racist abuse at her neighbour as she helped her disabled partner out of a taxi, including telling her to go back to Thailand.

She said: “This matter was taken to trail, my understanding from the advocate at trial is that a video was a produced by the taxi driver in which some of the language was heard, a basis of plea was offered, but rejected, and Ms Preston was convicted on a full facts basis.”

The victim said: “After it happened it went over and over in my mind, I couldn’t sleep and kept talking to my partner about it and crying. She was so nasty and angry and shouted racist words at me, I can’t forget and have even dreamt about it.”

“I have difficulty trusting people now.”

Video footage capturing some of the incident was produced by the taxi driver.

Andrew Clowser, mitigating, said Preston would have entered a guilty plea had she seen the footage before the trial.

“When she was interviewed by police, that was her giving her best recollection, unfortunately the footage then jogged her memory and showed her recollection was not as accurate as she had hoped,” he said.

“If she had seen that footage much earlier she would have taken a different approach,” he said.

He said there was “bad blood” between the pair, with Preston angry over allegations of theft of money from her purse.

“Unfortunately in the heat of the moment she’s made that comment,” he said. “She is not racist, this conviction does not prove she is a racist person.”

“She entirely regrets that and accepts the reality of the situation – her property is on the market, she will have to move, that is the only realistic way this will be resolved and the bad blood will go away.”

For a charge of racially aggravated harassment, Preston, of High Street, Brightlingsea, was handed a 12-month community order. She must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and complete a 15 day rehabilitation activity requirement. She must also pay costs of £705.