Man sent menacing note with homophobic death threat after moving neighbour's bin

A gay man who moved his neighbour's bin said he received homophobic death threats in a menacing note stuck to a door hours later. Josh Val Martin says he moved the bin while searching for a Buddha statue which regularly goes missing outside his flat in Heaton Moor, Stockport.

The 30-year-old writer and tour guide returned the bin to 'roughly' the same position. Yet soon after, Josh noticed a menacing note on the communal front door of his apartment block, in which the neighbour vowed to 'put an end' to him.

The note said: "To Mr Gay, if you move my bin I will put an end to you. You may find an ex merenary (sic) ex Royal MM (sic) may call on you not to have a chat but to destroy."

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The incident last Sunday morning (June 4) is the latest episode in a series of 'curtain twitching' and passive-aggressive behaviour that both he and his partner have been subjected to since moving into the flat in leafy Heaton Moor. Josh says their treatment has 'tainted' their enjoyment of the property.

He said: “I was living in Clayton beforehand which was really working class and never had any complaints. We got on with neighbours and it was great.

"This is at the other end of the spectrum - I knew there would be lots of rules and regulations. I was expecting egg and spoon races at the park and pub quizzes but it’s lots of curtain twitching.

“I think we stand out and I think we’ve been watched - it makes you paranoid.” Josh says the issues began shortly after he moved into the flat with his partner and put some outdoor furniture in the communal area of their block.

This annoyed one neighbour who moved it without asking, he claimed. Josh later placed a £12 statue of