HAMPTON, N.H. (AP) – And you thought you had obnoxious neighbors.

A parking dispute between two well-to-do oceanfront neighbors that has gone on for more than a year has led to a court fight that includes allegations of stalking, pounding of nails into tires, secret videotaping, and dousing of others with a sprinkler. Videotapes played in court show one side giving the finger toward the neighbors’ home.

One judge likened the battling neighbors to Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

The two principal antagonists, Beverly Hollingworth and Peter Hutchins, are used to playing for high stakes in the public eye, she as a legislator, he as a trial lawyer.

Hollingworth, 69, is a former New Hampshire Senate president who ran for governor three years ago. Hutchins, 47, won millions from the Roman Catholic Church on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse.

At issue is whether Hollingworth is entitled to park at the end of a narrow gravel road in front of a house the Hutchinses bought last year on Great Boar’s Head Point, a spit of land that juts into the Atlantic Ocean.

Hollingworth and her husband own a century-old house built down a steep slope from the road. Hollingworth says an old court decision establishes her rights to the road.

Not so, says Hutchins, who lays partial claim to the 8-foot-wide road, which cuts across his property.

“Ms. Hollingworth and her tenants and guests continued to use the area for parking, often parking four to five cars across our property,” Hutchins said Tuesday in a statement. “An effective method to control this situation is necessary.”

That part of the case has yet to be resolved.

Separately, Hutchins’ wife, Kathy, has accused Hollingworth’s husband, William Gilligan, of stalking her. She testified she felt threatened when Gilligan told her, “You have no class,” and “You have no shame,” after witnesses said they saw her douse her neighbors’ guests with a lawn sprinkler.

The Hollingworth side claims that Mrs. Hutchins was caught on videotape hammering a nail into a tire on Hollingworth’s car at night. Mrs. Hutchins claimed she was “banging” on the tire but did not puncture it. She has pleaded not guilty to attempted criminal mischief.

Videotapes played in court also showed the Hutchinses giving the finger toward the Hollingworth house and Mrs. Hutchins slapping her buttocks and bending over as Hollingworth and Gilligan passed in their car. Mrs. Hutchins said last week she was simply bending over.

Other neighbors have been drawn into the fray.

“Everyone up there is in fear of personal harm of some kind, and property harm,” said Robert Crowley, who lives between the battling couples. “It is extremely tense.”

Crowley himself has been sued by Hutchins for invasion of privacy for allowing Hollingworth to install a video camera on Crowley’s property. Hollingworth said police advised her to install a camera to try to catch vandals who had smashed, scratched and slashed cars parked on the road.

“Peter Hutchins throws around lawsuits like confetti,” Crowley said.

Another neighbor, Nancy Donovan, spray-painted a line down the Hutchins driveway, which runs past her front door. The retired nurse said she drew the line after Mrs. Hutchins threatened to sue her for standing in the driveway.

Hollingworth and her husband have temporarily vacated the house, which she has owned since 1976. The Hutchinses do not live in their house; they plan to tear it down and rebuild.

Last month, District Judge Thomas Rappa urged the couples to try to resolve the dispute and appreciate their seaside homes, instead of trying to “outmaneuver the other party like Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.”

“Reach deep within yourselves,” he counseled. “Grow as individuals, have some tolerance toward your neighbors, and show some respect.”

AP-ES-10-06-05 1354EDT