OLYMPIC sailor Peter Bromby and his brother John have launched a civil suit against Henry Talbot, the former PLP trustee who took them to court on charges of assault and threatening behaviour.The brothers were initially found guilty but had their convictions quashed on appeal.

They maintain that Mr. Talbot, who is their neighbour, drummed up the charges in retaliation for complaints they lodged against him with the Planning Department.

The dispute kicked off in 2004 when Mr. Talbot bulldozed a Somerset beauty spot in order to build a jetty and boathouse.

The demolition work, on Gilbert's Bay, off East Shore Road, flouted planning and environmental protection laws and a subsequent appeal was rejected. Mr. Talbot obtained Planning permission to build the boathouse but did not have permission to wipe out rock formations.

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield gave him until October 18, 2005 to repair the damage. No such efforts have been carried out to date and no action has been taken against him.

Contacted yesterday, the renowned sailor referred questions to his lawyer Richard Horseman but said: "Basically, the gist is this guy dragged us through the court system and filed an assault charge which we've been exonerated of. "With that comes cost. I don't think anybody should be able to walk into a police station and say that innocent people hit them with a piece of pipe. It's total B.S. He was retaliating for us running him into the Planning Department."Mr. Horseman did not return calls by press time.

Suit filed