A raging eco boss with a history of working in the oil and gas industries has claimed he destroyed a bed of wildflowers in a row with green-fingered neighbours because the planter was not environmentally friendly.
Residents of Gwaenysgor, north Wales, installed the first of six planters in a bid to improve biodiversity opposite the village pub and to the rear of Mike Hodgson’s garden wall, on public land.
But shocking video footage emerged showing the wind turbine company director pulling out the colourful herbs and flowers less than 24 hours after the raised bed had been tenderly planted by volunteers.
Mr Hodgson and his partner, who have been accused of ‘terrorising’ locals with anti-social behaviour, allegedly took ‘power tools and crowbars’ to destroy the bed of blooms next to his luxury home.
Now Mr Hodgson has hit back and told MailOnline the flowerbed violated his ‘business plans’ and ‘environmental ethos’, and said it follows opposition to his attempt to install a home office and gym.
Video footage appears to show wind turbine company director Mike Hodgson, 54, pulling out the colourful herbs and flowers less than 24 hours after the raised bed had been planted
Mr Hodgson was pictured holding a crowbar aloft as he spoke to village volunteers
Mr Hodgson attempted to destroy the wooden planter by cutting it up with an angle grinder
Villagers staged a sit in to try and protect the bed, but Mr Hodgson simply climbed over them
Michael Hodgson, 53, is the CEO of an offshore wind company but used to work in the oil and gas industries
The green energy boss and his partner Shirin Poostchi, 55, were filmed on Tuesday as they climbed onto the soil and pulled out the plants that had been put in place. Mr Hodgson was seen ripping out all the insect friendly plants before trying to cut up the wooden planter with an angle grinder.
Residents of Gwaenysgor then staged a ‘sit-in’ to protect the flower bed during the turf war in the heart of the countryside village.
Speaking to MailOnline on Friday, Mr Hodgson, whose LinkedIn profile boasts a 20-year career in oil and gas, said: ‘We acknowledge that a recent incident involving the removal of a planter has attracted attention. I would like to address the situation directly and provide some context as the video provided a one-sided view.
‘This matter stems from a long-standing conflict within the community. The planter encroaches on the property where we conduct our business and was erected without planning permission in a conservation area.
‘Our company is deeply committed to recycling and green energy, and we have always strived to maintain our premises in a manner consistent with these values.
‘Unfortunately, the planter in question includes materials that are not environmentally friendly, such as plastic and concrete, which conflicts with our sustainability efforts.
‘We requested the individuals responsible for the planter to move it and provided them with a 24-hour window to do so. When this was not accomplished, we proceeded to remove the planter ourselves.
Neighbours say problems started when the Hodgsons first moved to the village in 2013
The bed was planted in preparation for Britain in Bloom and in association with the village Conservation Group and Community Council Biodiversity Project
Community volunteers sat on the planter in an attempt to stop the couple from destroying it
‘I want to be clear that there was no aggression or hostility on our part; we simply exercised our right to maintain a space that already contained plants and herbs, in a rockery style.
‘It’s also important to note that the planter location has implications for our ongoing planning application to make necessary changes to our property to comply with the Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
‘The presence of this structure has the potential to affect these plans, which are critical to our business operations and more importantly our environmental ethos.
‘The incident is regrettable, and I hope that we can all move forward. I encourage the community to respect each other’s spaces and focus on positive developments within our area.’
It came as neighbours told MailOnline the couple have made the village a ‘living nightmare’.
Locals said there had been an ongoing planning dispute with wind turbine company boss Mr Hodgson after he moved into the countryside village of Gwaenysgor, North Wales, around 11 years ago.
Tuesday’s incident marked a low point in a long running feud between Mr Hodgson, his partner Shirin Poostchi and a number of residents in Gwaenysgor, near Prestatyn, in Flintshire, north Wales.
There has been allegations of verbal abuse, vandalising of cars and other vehicles being covered in stale bread, chip fat and lipstick when they had been parked close to Mr Hodgson’s home.
Complaints to police about the hostile climate and distressing incidents in the village have created a bulging file known by insiders as the ‘Gwaenysgor problem’ but have not resulted in any action.
Neighbour Simon Spense said: ‘When we moved here 28 years ago this was a wonderful village and a lovely place to live. But since Hodgson moved in 18 years ago it has been a living nightmare.
‘He has cameras and listening devices turned on us all the time. He reported a great friend, a local councillor, who I had known for 30 odd years just for visiting us at our home.
‘I know not everyone gets on with everyone in a small place like this. You just give one another a wide berth in that case and you get on with your life and they get on with theirs.
‘But not Hodgson. He is an impossible man. It is so stressful wondering what is going to happy next. You are walking on egg shells the whole time. We are not going to let him win though. We are not giving up or moving house.’
Mr Spense, 67, has logged no less than 15 incidents where there have been issues with Mr Hodgson starting with loud music coming from his house all night soon after he moved in back in 2013.
He claims Hodgson has spied on them, made obscene gestures, chopped down plants without their permission and at one stage built an area of decking against their boundary wall which allowed him to look over.
Mr Hodgson and Ms Poostchi brought tools to the flower bed and tried to demolish it completely
Less than 24 hours earlier members of the Gwaesnygor community had come together to plant the first of six planned beds
The plants were all bee and insect friendly, and it was hoped the planters would help the area’s biodiversity
On that occasion, in 2014, the council took enforcement action and he was obliged to lower the height of the decking. On another in 2015, Hodgson allegedly sprayed Mr Spense and his wife, Becky, with a hosepipe.
There have been several occasions on which they say they have suffered verbal intimidation after parking their car close to his house during bad weather.
And in April 2023, Ms Pootschi was seen carrying a large, dead Christmas tree across her garden and soon after the Spenses found it dumped over their wall. It was returned to Mr Hodgson.
Neighbours Gareth and Jenny Williams described the Hodgsons as ‘antagonistic’ and ‘aggressive’ and said many in the village were intimidated by them.
Problems began more than a decade ago after Mrs Williams parked her car on a public road alongside their wall due to a lack of space outside her house.
The following day, she says a police officer arrived at the house and told her the Hodgsons had complained she had bumped into their garden wall, citing a dent in her car.
Ms Williams had to explain she had actually sustained the dent after returning home from the hospital, where her husband was receiving cancer treatment, having collided with her house’s gate. No further action was taken.
And she said after the flowerbed incident Ms Poostchi ‘screamed verbal abuse’ at her through the window.
A police officer is scheduled to attend her address tomorrow to make a statement.
‘They seem to have gone out of their way to make people miserable,’ Mrs Williams said.
Her husband added most of the problems arouse out of alleged anti-social behaviour, such as parking their five cars along narrow lanes and blocking access to the village pub.
Mr Williams, who has lived in the village for 40 years, said: ‘They’ve caused the greatest possible intrusion into the village.
‘When they arrived, he lived here as a boy, so he knew the house they were buying was at the centre of the village, but from the day they arrived they’ve been working on stopping people from utilising their rights to park.
‘It was a very peaceable place, a quiet village before that.’
Another neighbour told MailOnline they were too scared to talk about the disputes they have had with the Hodgsons due to concern over their safety.
At lunchtime on Tuesday, two police cars containing four officers raced to the scene and separated the opposing factions amid fears it could come to blows over the biodiversity project.
Mr Hodgson is seen gesticulating at the person filming the incident
It is not known what happened to the plants uprooted during the row on Tuesday
It was one of six planned planters to be set up on odd areas of unkempt, unadopted ground around the village and it was constructed with the help of the local conservation group as part of a Britain in Bloom bid.
Mr Hodgson, who worked for 20 years in the oil and gas industries, is understood to have become increasingly incensed over three failed planning applications he had made for his £500,000, four bedroom home at the end of Lon Capel street.
On each occasion there has been vociferous opposition from locals opposed to his attempt to build a home office and gym in his garden and create off street parking for himself on land which they say he does not own.
Mr Hodgson, 53, director of a company which maintains the blades on wind turbines, and Ms Poostchi, 55, moved into Gwaenysgor in 2013. Soon after clashes with neighbours began.
He has even been barred from the Eagle & Child opposite his house by landlord Clinton Borders who has complained about access to his premises for customers and brewery drays being blocked.
Neighbour Andy Clarke, 58, said: ‘We installed a herb planter adjacent to their house – it is not on their land but is next to it.
‘Members of the public had to sit on the bed to stop them destroying it. The police were called but no one was cautioned or arrested.
‘What happened was breathtaking.
‘We had all worked on this to try and brighten up some of the messier parts of the village. There is a wonderful growing sense of community here but one which Mr Hodgson does not seem to share.
‘We hoped this planter would be the beginning of a planned project of six which would blossom in to a full-blown Britain in Bloom entry. After less than 24 hours, we are back to square one.’
Mr Clarke, a creative director at a design agency, added the flowers had been planted with the support of the community council in what he described as a ‘sleepy, rural, village, where the average age of residents must be over 60’.
He said: ‘We planted this to brighten things up and as part of readying the village for Britain in Bloom and in association with the village Conservation Group and Community Council Biodiversity Project.’
Posting a video of the incident on social media, Mr Clarke added: ‘To see our friends and neighbours terrorised and threatened by [Mr Hodgson] will haunt my sleep.’
During the video, a man can be heard saying in front of Mr Hodgson: ‘This is how CEOs of companies behave. I’m going to love putting this on his LinkedIn account later on today. This is going to be fabulous on his LinkedIn profile.’
Mr Clarke said villagers had previously contacted their local Conservative Senedd Member Mark Isherwood and police regarding alleged ‘anti-social behaviour’ problems with Mr Hodgson but to no avail.
Inspector Wesley Williams, of North Wales Police, said: ‘I am aware of ongoing concerns raised by residents in the Gwaenysgor area, and of images in connection with an incident released in the media.
‘Prior to the incident, I have had discussions with relevant partners and Senedd members to understand the concerns and issues within the village and to be able to provide longer term community support. I would urge the public not to jeopardise ongoing police investigations by sharing or commenting on the matter online.’