A convicted sex offender moved a caravan onto a young mum's garden and 'squatted' there for nine months until he was arrested for an assault which left her with broken bones.
Royal Navy officer Hayley Shakeshaft and her dad, Steve Shakeshaft, made multiple complaints about criminal Kirk Eden - but say they were told by police "he has rights too" and they would need to "learn to live alongside him".
Hayley was serving a tour of duty at sea off the coast of Syria when Eden, 47, decided to move the caravan into the grounds of a block of flats at Barnston Towers Close in Heswall, Wirral, where she lives with her eight-year-old daughter.
Steve spotted Eden entering the land on a CCTV camera feed in March 2019 and raced down - but he refused to budge.
Steve turned to Merseyside Police and Wirral Council for help, but was told it was a "civil matter" and that Eden had made ludicrous claims about "owning the land".
When Hayley returned from duty on September 30, 2019, and found out about the disturbing development Steve said she "broke down" and locked herself in her room sobbing.
During the time Eden squatted on the site, the Shakeshaft family reported him for allegedly stealing electricity, cutting off the power, banging on Hayley's doors and harassment and intimidation.
Eden launched Facebook rants against the family, including posting a bizarre video of himself outside Steve's home at 2am where he moaned about being "bullied".
Steve said on one occasion they found Eden had padlocked a communal gate so he cut the lock - only to be told by police he could be prosecuted for criminal damage if he did it again.
After hearing rumours about Eden's convictions for sexual offences and fearing for the safety of his daughter and granddaughter, Steve asked the police to disclose the crook's criminal record under Sarah's Law, which allows police to share information about anyone who may pose a danger to a child.
However the force refused the application, and Steve said an officer told him: "If he has a sexual convictions, that does not necessarily mean he is a danger to children."
Steve said: "We were in fear for our lives, but every single time we reported it to the police we felt like they were against us.
"We were constantly emailing the (Wirral Council) anti social behaviour team and the local PC , who worked alongside each other, about the constant harassment from Eden.
"These complaints were about cutting the electricity off in the night three times at least, to harass my daughter, putting a padlock on the access gate to prevent my daughter accessing her garden, cutting all the cables on the CCTV system, hammering on my daughter's door in the night and more.
"Eden claimed to own the land and without proving otherwise, the ASBO team and the local police officer invited Eden and my daughter to discuss matters in the local library over a coffee.
"The council and police then said if we tried to cut the padlock off the gate a second time I would be prosecuted for criminal damage.
"We were also warned that Eden also had rights, and we would have to learn to live with the situation.
"Any further complaints or action would be regarded as harassment by us, which is unbelievable.
"The worst thing about all this is that an eight-year-old girl was terrified by all of this and nobody seem to be prioritising the psychological effect to her."
The family were prepared for a long and tortuous legal process to get Eden off the land, but things came to a head on January 16, 2020, when Eden rammed his bicycle into 36-year-old Hayley sending her crashing to the ground.
Hayley put out her hand to break her fall, but suffered a fractured wrist and bruising to her shoulder, hip and thigh.
Eden later admitted causing grievous bodily harm without intent, and was jailed for two years and three months at Liverpool Crown Court on June 1.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, sentencing, told Eden: "Whilst she was in pain she noted that you were smirking at her before riding off."
The court heard Eden had 27 previous convictions for 84 offences, including seven sex offences, 25 theft and fraud matters, making threats to kill, assaults, harassment and breaching court orders.
The court heard the injuries had a significant impact on Hayley's life, meaning she was medically downgraded by the Navy and could not join HMS Tamar that month.
She even said the psychological impact of the assault left her "contemplating suicide".
Hayley has since re-joined her comrades and is again on a tour at sea.
Since then Steve and Hayley have obtained an injunction against Eden from Birkenhead County Court, banning him from entering the flats on Barnston Towers Close; contacting Hayley, Steve, her daughter or her mum Ann Shakeshaft; making any Facebook posts referring to them or threatening them or their property with violence.
They also instructed solicitors to check the Land Registry - which revealed Eden had no claim to the grounds and it was jointly owned by the freeholders of the flats, including Hayley.
His caravan has since been towed off the site at Steve and Hayley's expense.
Steve told the ECHO: "It's caused great distress and financial loss. My daughter's and my reputation were called into question by the local police."
The Shakeshaft family have made a formal complaint to Merseyside Police.
A spokeswoman for the force said: "We can confirm an application was received under Sarah’s law in March 2019.
"On this occasion, the application did not meet the criteria needed for information to be disclosed and was declined.
"A complaint has been received in relation to the police investigation into Kirk Eden and is currently being handled.
"As such, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time."
