A maths teacher who played the Dambusters march and Vera Lynn songs to his German neighbour has been found guilty of racial harassment.

Geoffrey Butler, waged a four-year hate campaign against Reinhard and Kathryn Wendt, both 62, after a row over a pocket of land turned sour.

Events came to a head in April last year, when he performed a Nazi salute, the court heard.

He was also said to have played a speech by WWII prime minister Winston Churchill.

After four hours giving evidence at Medway Magistrates Court, Butler was found guilty of racially aggravated harassment - and given a conditional discharge.

The magistrates took just over an hour to convict him.

Chairman of the bench, Colin Smith, said: "We found Mr and Mrs Wendt to be compelling, credible and consistent witnesses.

"Their assertion that loud war-related music was being played is corroborated.

"We found Mr Butler's evidence to be evasive and contradictory - both in court and in the police interview."

Kathyrn and Reinhard Wendt outside court

Butler, 54, was accused of targeting his neighbours, who live across the road from him in Margetts Place, Lower Upnor.

They claim he whistled songs including the Dambusters march, played Vera Lynn tunes, spied on them and made unreasonable complaints to the police.

But today he denied the campaign and said Mr Wendt attacked him, throwing dirt at him in a tussle on July 30, 2007.

There was laughter in the public gallery as he raised his voice and said: "He charged at me with a chair shouting 'get off my land, bighead'. What was I supposed to do?"

He fought back and was arrested, but no charges were ever brought.

The neighbours fell out over a piece of land just 6ft long.

The Wendts said they would take it but pulled out because solicitors' fees were too great.

Tom Daniel, defending, said "nobody's pretending this was happy families" but added: "if he's playing a piece of music that just happens to rub someone up the wrong way the court shouldn't be criminalising him for it."

Butler, who was threatened with prosecution for contempt of court after he kept interrupting proceedings, said: "I've seen blanket allegations saying I was doing this with no record of it in their diary."

Mr Daniel added: "He has already been crippled financially by these proceedings.

"He's now a man on benefits, who had worked for 29 years."

Butler was given a conditional discharge for three years and ordered to pay £1,800 costs.

He was also slapped with a restraining order until further notice, which prevents him from:

• Using threatening, abusive, insulting behaviour
• Pointing any photographic device at the Wendts’ house
• Playing loud music or recorded speech, making any comment or remark associated with the German race.

Butler said from the dock that he would appeal.