Jodie Marsh is charged with assault after 'putting her hands on neighbour's neck' in row over animal sanctuary

Published: 12:12, 16 April 2026 | Updated: 12:29, 16 April 2026 Jodie Marsh has been charged with assault after allegedly putting her hands on her neighbour's neck in a row over her animals. The former glamour model, 47, said she 'lost it' with her neighbour after he carried out a 'campaign of harassment' against her. She claims the neighbour had been filming animals at her sanctuary, Fripps Farm in Lindsell, near Braintree in Essex.  She said the neighbour had doctored footage to make them look 'skeletal' after trespassing onto her land. Marsh has previously blamed online trolls for ruining her 'life dream' of running an animal sanctuary.   Marsh has been charged with common assault and could face six months in prison.  She is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court tomorrow.  Jodie Marsh, 47, pictured with a horse in her animal sanctuary Fripps Farm in Essex 47, said she 'lost it' with her neighbour after he carried out a 'campaign of harassment' against her Marsh (pictured in 2003) is a former glamour model, media personality and bodybuilder Speaking about the incident, she told The Sun: 'I put my hand on his neck because I leaned in to whisper to him. 'I can't even remember what I said because I was so upset. It lasted around 30 seconds. 'I'm scared to sleep in my own house. I'm scared to go out.' She insisted she did not harm her neighbour in the outburst. An Essex Police spokesman said: 'At around 12.40pm on Friday 16 January officers were called to an address in Lindsell to reports of a woman behaving aggressively towards a man and assaulting him. 'It was further reported that verbal threats were made. 'As a result of further enquiries, charges of common assault and using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour have since been authorised against Jodie Marsh, 47, of Lindsell. 'She is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Friday 17 April.' Marsh appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and went on to feature in several reality shows and magazines. However, she turned her back on the limelight to run the sanctuary. The media personality last year had an application for lemurs to kept at her sanctuary rejected. It was then overturned after she argued that online trolls had been behind a campaign against her. She told the court: 'I've wanted an animal sanctuary since I was five years old - this is my life dream.' Marsh also said that 'everybody in the public eye has trolls', adding: 'They lash out, they pick on you, as in my case.' 'When I was bodybuilding they trolled me for that, when I was modelling they trolled me for that; now it's the animals,' she said. The court heard Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the RSPCA had not raised any concerns over the application for the lemurs, an endangered species from Madagascar. A judge said there was 'considerable animosity between Ms Marsh and the members of the local community'. But he added: ‘Ms Marsh may not be popular in the surrounding area but, based on the evidence given to this court, I conclude that she is a person who genuinely cares for her animals. ‘Ms Marsh is not, and has not been, responsible for any harm or ill-treatment [of the animals in her care].’ At Chelmsford Magistrates' Court she also defended taking a meerkat called Mabel to the pub. 'Most of the time when I did take Mabel to the pub nobody even knew she was there, she was in my jumper or in her case,' she said. She said that 'it's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub' and that Mabel 'was hand-reared from a baby, she lives with me in the house as well'. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.