A woman chained herself to a tractor in a row over a debt with a neighbour.
Sharon Bruckshaw, a breeder of rare sheep and lambs, who lives near Turriff, claimed she faces ruin over the repairs to the broken-down vehicle which her neighbour had offered to fix.
She claimed Mark Giles told her he could sort the vehicle for “cheap” but has now impounded her property until she stumps up hundreds of pounds to cover the work.
Ms Bruckshaw said she is “shocked” by the turn of events and was forced to take “some very drastic action” over the matter.
She said: “I went down there and chained myself to the steering wheel. I was going to stay there until somebody helped me. I called 999 and the police arrived.
“It’s days later now and I still can’t get my head around what happened next. The police spoke to them then admonished me for calling 999. I told them what had happened, but they weren’t really interested.”
She claims the police told her to go home.
Ms Bruckshaw added: “I’m in absolute shock. I would not have knowingly opened up this living hell for myself.
“I don’t have any money. I’m going to have to borrow £500 from someone to pay them, then sell the tractor to pay them the rest.”
Mr Giles said he never offered to fix the tractor for free.
Last night, he said: “She brought her tractor to me to get fixed. She’s due a bill that’s not paid. It’s not down to the police. It’s a civil matter so I’ll take her to court to get the money.
“You don’t fix someone’s tractor for free – she knew that.”
Police confirmed the incident was now a civil matter.
A spokesman added: “We were alerted and went along. The woman unchained herself from the tractor and an agreement was made between the two of them about how to resolve the issue.”