WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton moved to Pembrokeshire to enjoy a new lifestyle in rural Wales, but their new neighbours soon turned their lives into a living nightmarre
Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton (Image: Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton )
Complaints about troublesome neighbours are hardly uncommon, yet Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton’s experience proved to be something altogether more sinister.
It began in 2018 when the couple relocated from Surrey to Pembrokeshire, seeking a quieter, more peaceful existence in rural Wales.
They settled in the charming Fox Hill, and while renovating an old farmhouse, made their temporary home in a converted double-decker bus.
Following the move, Richard recalled feeling completely carefree for the first time in years, with both of their children from previous marriages having reached adulthood. Amanda described it as a “magical” period in their lives.
Trouble, however, began to brew when another couple, Francis and Cassie Collins, purchased 36 acres of neighbouring land.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Richard recalled that their initial relationship was perfectly amicable, with the couple even treating them to dinner and appearing “very friendly”.
They initially loved living at their new home(Image: Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton )
The situation took a darker turn after Richard and Amanda handed their new neighbours £25,000 to purchase the paddocks immediately surrounding their property.
Francis, who had trained to be a paratrooper, pocketed the money but subsequently denied them access to the land.
Legal proceedings were initiated, and before long, a “terrorising” campaign was unleashed.
Francis dispatched numerous threatening emails in which he warned of setting their home ablaze, before eventually escalating to outright death threats. One email stated: “You will lose everything you love and I will make you watch.”
A second message declared: “You’re about to have the worst week of your life, I’m so excited. You’re facing bankruptcy, and worse. And you don’t even know why yet, lmao. Ya lost.”
The renovated bus the couple lived in(Image: Richard Burton and Amanda Hutton )
Following a peaceful beginning to their fresh start, the pair soon found themselves living in perpetual terror, with Amanda contemplating taking her own life on two occasions.
Speaking to the Times, she revealed: “I just felt so worthless throughout it all. Talking about it now is still hard.”
Despite handing over the £25,000, no Land Registry paperwork materialised to verify their ownership of the land, and Francis subsequently started sending threatening photographs via WhatsApp.
These included images of machetes and crossbows, and he took to patrolling the land around Fox Hill while wearing a balaclava.
Several months on, Francis announced he would no longer be selling them the paddocks, yet the funds were not repaid.
He then set about attempting to ruin Richard and Amanda’s lives – from making false fraud allegations to sabotaging their furniture restoration enterprise and submitting bogus orders.
They have now published a book about their harrowing experiences(Image: HarperCollins)
When they initiated civil legal action against him to recover the £25,000, he allegedly made threats to rape and murder Amanda’s daughter.
The situation intensified further when Francis hurled three improvised petrol bombs at their bus during the night.
Richard and his wife were asleep in the farmhouse at the time, and emergency services quickly descended on the property. Yet within just a few hours, Francis and Cassie were standing at the edge of their property, directing menacing stares towards their terrified neighbours.
The threatening emails continued to arrive thereafter.
Eventually, in May 2020, Francis was charged with arson, possession of a firearm without a certificate and stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm and distress.
The relieved couple anticipated a five-year custodial sentence, but by the time the trial concluded, he had already served seven months on remand and, having pleaded guilty, was subsequently released.
Richard told the Times: “Everyone was gobsmacked. Even the police.”
A resolution was ultimately reached between the parties, and the Collins’ relocated to Cullompton in late 2020. In a shocking development, Amanda was hoovering in September 2021 when she received a call from police.
She and Richard were informed that Francis and Cassie had been discovered dead following a suicide pact. Cassie, who suffered from chronic pain and had been cared for by Francis, died from a fentanyl overdose, while Francis took his own life by hanging.
Their three dogs were also euthanised.
Despite an underlying sense of relief, the news left Richard and Amanda profoundly saddened and distressed.
“We had known them,” Amanda said. “They were trapped in a situation they didn’t want to be in any more. But it was a shame they had to wreck our lives before they left.”
Richard and Amanda have since left Fox Hill farmhouse, though they continue to live nearby together.
They have now published a book about their terrifying ordeal called Stalked: A Harrowing True Story of Stalking, Strength and Survival in Rural Wales