Shocking CCTV shows a drunk thug armed with a knife and metal pole he used to attack his neighbour - in a planning row sparked over a shed.

Footage shows Shane Berry scaling the fence armed with weapons to force his way into the home of Mark Taylor and his family who lived next door.

The attacker then hits Mark multiple times with a scaffolding pole over the head and tries to stab him "in the kidneys" with a knife, the victim recalled."

Mark said he managed to get his hand in the way of the blade to save himself - but suffered major head and thumb injuries as his family cowered elsewhere in their home for safety.

Berry, 53, was jailed for six years this week at Exeter Crown Court after admitting GBH wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

Speaking after the case, Mark, a father-of-two of Exminster, Devon, said they had fallen out with their neighbours around 18 months earlier about sheds - but had no contact with them since signing a Community Protection Order.

After the judge told Berry he was 'lucky' not to be facing a murder charge and life in prison., Mark said he was convinced his attacker was intent on killing him.

He said: "If I had not seen that knife coming I would be dead. It was aimed right at my kidneys. "

"I truly believed his whole intention was killing me and then going after my wife, but for some reason after he attacked me he decided to leave her alone." "

Mark, 46, a full time carer, said they had previous petty squabbles with Berry and his elderly mum he lived with.

But things took a more serious turn when Mark was denied permission for a shed in his front garden.

He raised a complaint with Teign Housing over 'double standards' when his neighbours then put up a bigger one and refused to take it down.

Mark, his wife, and two neighbours then all signed a CPO vowing to keep the peace in November 2023.

He added: "The ironic thing was we had no contact with them since the end of 2023. "

"As far as we were concerned from the moment we all signed that CPO they did not exist."

"We fell out over sheds nearly two years ago. But there is never any justification for such horrific violence. It was a neighbour dispute that we had fully believed had been settled."

"We have been left terrified and there is no other word to describe his other than vile."

Recalling the incident on 11 July this year, Mark said he was sitting in his front room watching telly and at around 6pm heard some loud shouting.

He added: "It sounded like someone was having an argument. My wife got up to walk to the kitchen and Shane was coming across the fence with weapons."

"He turned back to his mum in the window and shouted 'I'm going to kill those f***** two fat c****.'"

"My wife frantically tried to lock the front window but by the time she got to the front door he was barging his way into the property."

"He saw I had my phone in my hand and said 'f**king video this.'"

"He was whacking my head with a three foot scaffold pole. I managed to get back on my feet and pull myself back to the front door. I was standing face to face with him and could see the knife come up in his left hand and he went to stab me in the kidneys."

"I grabbed the knife and cut my hand open. But it was either that or get stabbed in the kidneys. "

"He did a twisting motion with the knife as I think he thought he had inserted the blade and was trying to cause as much damage as possible. "

"He went back to my wife who was cowering in the kitchen who pleaded with him to leave us as we had one of our children upstairs. "

"He then casually leaves the property like he's just had a cup of tea with two mates and pops back over the fence."

Mark said he was bleeding everywhere and his son, who had been hiding upstairs. phoned 999. 

Armed police arrived within 10 minutes and Berry was arrested with his arms in the air screaming he had "done nothing wrong."

Mark was left with two massive lacerations to his head that took 24 staples to close and needed multiple stiches in his thumb.

He is now left with lasting scars on his head and no movement in his right thumb.

He added: "I am not the same person I was. Before I could happily go out and do things and, even though he is now locked up, I am now still scared of my environment."

The footage, which was captured from Mark's CCTV camera shows him forcing his way through the door, going into the kitchen and running across with pole in hand, before forcibly shutting the door. 

As he leaves after the attack both the knife and pole are visibly scene in his hand.

Mark added: "I was absolutely petrified while he was hitting me with the pole and was just asking him what was going on "

"It has been scary watching back the footage as it brings back all the emotions. I have still not opened a knife drawer in the kitchen - I still can't bring myself to use it."

"The whole incident lasted no longer than two minutes, but his actions were just vile. There was no need, no matter the situation, ever to use this level of violence."

"His barrister tried to justify it as he had been drinking on the day. But for me that is no justification at all."

Mark said the dispute began in 2023 with 'silly' little complaints from the neighbours about them having 'too many solar lights', not matching the colour of cable ties and 'painting the woodwork 'all black' with accusations it looked like a prison yard.

But things escalated when Mark asked Teign Housing if they could put up a shed in the front garden to use as a bike store.

Mark said: "We were declined and told planning permission was needed. But they then put a much bigger one in their garden"

"We said to Teign Housing why had we been refused a much smaller one? They got told to take it down but that was never enforced and it is still there today."

"That is when Shane Berry first got violent. He ripped a fence post with concrete still attached out of the ground and threw it over our fence. He threatened to punch my wife in the face and kill her. "

"Nothing was done by the police and it was fobbed off as a boundary issue. "

"It got swept under the carpet."

Other instances of verbal abuse led to the CPO being signed in November 2023 to keep the peace by Mark, his wife, Shane and his mother.

Since that date, Mark said they 'lived' as if their neighbours didn't exist and had no contact with them at all until the attack in July this year.

"I just want it made clear none of this was instigated by us and we have never made any threats to anyone. Once we signed CPO as far as we were concerned we had nothing to do with them."

"I didn't necessarily agree with the wording but was happy to sign it as a way of keeping the peace. From that moment we decided to have no contact with them."

"I feel better now he is in prison. I did not leave the house all the time he was on bail. I didn't feel safe enough to do so."

Amanda Nicholls, Director of Customer and Communities at Teign Housing, said: "We take all reports of anti-social behaviour extremely seriously, and have a specialist team to manage cases intensively."

"In this case, we worked closely with the police and others to support what has been a complex situation. Our work saw a two-year community protection warning issued as an example of the robust actions we have taken to dissolve tensions."

"We welcome the court outcome and hope that it supports residents to enjoy their homes. We will continue to offer support to Mr and Mrs Taylor."