The Princess of Wales’ brother is embroiled in a vicious dispute with a “nightmare neighbour” who has allegedly plastered his home village with vicious posters attacking the family.
James Middleton, 37, responded to The Independenton the dispute, which follows allegations that his family farm in Berkshire, just a stone’s throw from Kate’s parents’ home in the rural idyll of Bucklebury, is causing noise and light pollution.
David Alderton, 65, is alleged to have trespassed on the property where Mr Middleton lives with his wife and young child as part of a months-long dispute that has rocked the normally sleepy village of Stanford Dingley.
Mr Middleton also claims that Mr Alderton put up vicious posters in neighbouring villages attacking the Middleton family and that he told the future Queen’s brother that “things are going to get brutal”.
Mr Middleton’s land is just a few miles from Kate’s childhood home in leafy Bucklebury, where her younger sister Pippa now lives on Bucklebury Farm, a thriving 72-acre estate that Pippa bought with her husband James Matthews four years ago for £1.5 million.
Mr Alderton runs a motorbike dealership and lives in a bungalow directly opposite Mr Middleton’s farm. He got into a row with Mr Middleton after the farmer joined a group protesting against a planning application for a residential home that has been described as an “eyesore”, according to another neighbour familiar with the dispute.
As tensions reached boiling point, Mr Middleton is said to have asked that they only communicate by email or through the council. But despite them presumably engaging in a mediation programme, the alleged harassment campaign continued.
Reaction to The IndependentMr Middleton said: “The police were contacted shortly after the birth of our son as we became increasingly concerned about the activities surrounding a neighbour.
“West Berkshire Council became involved when our neighbour complained about noise from tractors and animals on the farm, as well as a number of other complaints.”
He went on to say that West Berkshire Council saw no reason to investigate the “disingenuous complaints”.
Mr Middleton also claimed: “Mr Alderton has a history of disputes with neighbours in the village. In 2017 he took legal action against the parish council and a parish official and intimidated local residents for objecting to a number of planning applications, all of which were refused.”
Mr Alderton was contacted twice by this publication but declined to respond. He did, however, tell the Daily Mail in February 2023: “This month we were also exposed to the unwanted intrusion of toxic and harmful fumes into our home, emanating from the obviously unsuitable machinery he uses.
“It is public knowledge that complaints have been made to the local council but nothing has been done.
“There are three barns full of old farm machinery that are of no use to anyone, all just 15 meters from our front door.”
He added: “These are ancient, noisy, dirty and smelly machines, old Massey Fergusons, an old threshing machine, wood chippers and so on.
“It’s a farm, so I suppose he thinks he can feel entitled to own farm machinery, even if it’s broken. But he has a duty of care to his neighbors and the environment – it shouldn’t impact on people nearby.”
While Mr Alderton accused his neighbour of using noisy machinery and disturbing an area of outstanding natural beauty, Mr Middleton painted a different picture.
He said: “It is sad that someone who chooses to live in the countryside in a farming community cannot accept that from time to time there will be noise and smells from tractors and animals, particularly if they live next to a farm.
“We would be neglecting our responsibility towards the animals and the landscape if we did what he asked of us with our livestock.”
Mr Middleton also claims that his neighbour used abusive language and committed trespassing so frequently that he felt compelled to contact the police to keep a record of Mr Alderton’s behaviour.
Mr Middleton claimed there was another angry argument after his neighbour allegedly allowed a journalist to film the property he shares with his wife Alizee Thevenet, 33, and their son Inigo with a drone camera.
Meanwhile, the situation is said to have escalated further in July last year when Mr Alderton reportedly visited the Middletons’ home while the family was on holiday.
According to a source familiar with the incident, a friend who was looking after the house was mauled when the family’s dogs frightened their own guinea fowl, which responded by screeching loudly.
Although her boyfriend went into the barn to calm the birds, according to the source, they could not act quickly enough to appease Mr. Alderton, who stormed onto the property, according to the source, yelling loudly, “Shut those damn birds up, you loud asshole,” which left the house sitter deeply disturbed.
Neighbours said the outburst was apparently not the first time Mr Alderton had become upset about cackling poultry. According to Mr Middleton, his neighbour spat feathers at his “wandering rooster” who had strayed and landed on Mr Alderton’s property.
Following the guinea fowl uproar, Mr Alderton raised the issue of a recently submitted planning application to which Mr Middleton had objected.
“We are 100% committed and focused on making this happen. (And) with your upcoming addition to the family, are you sure you want to devote even more time and energy to this?” Mr Alderton is reported to have written.
In the exchange, the angry neighbor’s words were apparently described as insulting and derogatory.
According to a neighbour who learned of the correspondence, Mr Alderton continued: “I’m ready for battle, mate, and I hope you are too. It’s going to be brutal.”
Unfortunately, the story did not end there, as Mr Alderton allegedly also caused a stir in the surrounding villages by publicizing the dispute with malicious posters.
The posters made malicious claims in response to reports last year that taxpayers would have to foot the bill for the collapse of Carole Middleton’s children’s party supplies business, Party Pieces.
The posters highlighted the company’s collapse and called on the couple to repay their debts. Dozens of laminated A4 pages were attached to trees, church boards and lamp posts.
“(Mr Alderton’s actions) resulted in hostility in the community, rumors and discontent and caused fear and distress to me and my family,” Mr Middleton said.
Neighbours described how Mr Middleton was forced to remove the posters by hand and claimed to have seen video footage showing Mr Alderton putting up the posters all over the village.
Ironically, publicly available Companies House documents show that Mr Alderton’s first company went into liquidation in May 2014 and he owed HMRC more than £70,000.
While it was said that this money could not be reclaimed due to lack of funds, at the same time Mr Alderton was acting as managing director of another company selling motorcycles – founded two years before the first was liquidated.
But that was not the end of the feud. Last autumn, the Middleton family said they had experienced further problems, including alleged re-posting of the posters, attempts to deliberately turn on their security lights at night and further alleged threats from Mr Alderton.
Mr Middleton told the newspaper he was sad but also happy that police were now investigating the incident.
