A long-standing argument over a wall between neighbours got so out of hand that one ran over the other with a pick-up truck, a court heard yesterday.

The rows between Joseph Bugeja, 47, from Mġarr, and Martin Chetcuti had even frustrated Magistrate Carol Peralta, who presided over district cases involving the men over the same issue.

The magistrate yesterday said the men had reminded him of a 1950s comedy sitcom The Real McCoys, which chronicles the antics of a rural farming family.

During the sitting yesterday, Mr Bugeja pleaded not guilty to trying to kill Mr Chetcuti on Wednesday morning, driving dangerously and harassing the victim. The incident happened after Mr Bugeja had begun to dismantle a wall, claiming he was doing so on the orders of the planning authority.

Mr Chetcuti’s son went to file a police report. At the same time, Mr Chetcuti went to take photographs of what Mr Bugeja was doing and the latter ran him over with his truck, slightly injuring him, the court heard.

Mr Bugeja is pleading not guilty to the charges.

He continuously interrupted the sitting as it got under way, prompting the magistrate to raise his voice and tell him to keep quiet because his behaviour was doing nothing to help his case.

Magistrate Peralta said he was granting bail only because he believed in the presumption of innocence but gave Mr Bugeja a stark warning about breaching the conditions by speaking to the alleged victims.

Bail was set against a deposit of €300 and personal guarantee of €5,000.