Poison pen letter writer James Forster was condemned by a judge for "destroying the fabric" of the village he terrorised for more than a decade.

But the pensioner, who waged a hate-mail campaign against his neighbours, has now found himself on the receiving end of destruction - after a bolt of lightning struck one of his two homes in the village.

Fire crews were called out to Manfield, near Darlington, on Easter Monday after the lightning strike on a Mr Forster's bungalow, Kirklea.

One Manfield resident, who did not want to be named, said yesterday: "There are plenty of people in the village who are quite happy about this."

It is not known whether Mr Forster was in the bungalow at the time, but firefighters said no one was injured.

The retired lecturer, who has always protested his innocence, was the scourge of Manfield for 12 years.

He was sentenced to four months in jail in 2001 after being convicted of threatening to destroy or damage property, of sending indecent or obscene mail and one count of incitement to commit burglary.