Geordie comedian Ross Noble certainly didn’t have his wife in hysterics when he pointed a tank at his neighbour’s house in a dispute over a garden fence.
The comic, who was born in Newcastle and raised in Northumberland but now resides in Australia, owned the ex-British Army vehicle and would drive it for fun on his land as well as display it at military shows when he lived in Kent.
Directing the machine’s gun turret, however, towards a new target because of an encroachment row left Fran failing to see the funny side.
“I had an argument with the bloke that bought the house next door,” the Have I Got News For You star told motoring podcast Fuelling Around.
Read more: Comedian to bring stand-up show to three North East venues in UK tour
Read more: Give Them Wings, filmed in Darlington and Bishop Auckland, now on Amazon Prime
Read more: HUGE crowd attends Darlington Dance Festival for town's Coronation celebrations
“He’s a property developer and he’s a bit of a d***.
“He was arguing over where the fence line was so I just pointed the tank at his house and my wife just went: ‘Have you pointed the tank at his house?’ and I went: ‘Do you think that comes across as a bit passive aggressive?’ and she went: ‘It’s not passive aggressive, it’s the most aggressive thing you can do. You’ve literally declared war on the guy!’
“This is the same guy who threatened to block the access road and I pointed out to him that whatever he decides to block that road with I’ll go over the top with it. I had bought a JCB for building jumps and making obstacles for the trials bike and I said ‘put what you like there and I’ll literally move it.’”
To get more stories direct to your email basket go here.
The comic, a keen motorcyclist and off-road racer, sold the tank before moving back Down Under with his Aussie wife and two daughters in 2017.
They are reportedly in the process of selling their 33-acre Australian home in the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, for a cool £1.8million.
The stand-up discussed living in Oz and life on tour among a host of other topics during the episode of the award-winning podcast which returns for a sixth series tomorrow (Wednesday, May 10).
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here