Jens Lehmann accused of destroying neighbour’s luxury villa with a chainsaw

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Jens Lehmann has been accused of attacking his neighbour’s house with a chainsaw, according to reports in Germany.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper is engaged in a long-running dispute over his view of Lake Starnberg, a popular summer spot near Munich. He is thought to have complained to local authorities about the neighbour’s new garage encroaching on his land.

Lehmann launched the attack on the luxury villa in an effort to saw off several roof beams, reports Bild. The 52-year-old was caught on CCTV and police are now investigating the incident, as well as three previous cases of vandalism which caused around £9,000 of damage.

The former German international bought the property 15 years ago for £4m while playing for Arsenal. He is yet to comment on the report.

He had been working on the board at Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin until last year, when he was sacked after a racist WhatsApp message was leaked online, for which he later apologised.

He appeared to accidentally send a message to former Germany international Dennis Aogo, who was working on a TV role at the time, which read: “Is Dennis actually your Quotenschwarzer (token black guy)?”

Aogo posted a screenshot of the message on Instagram with the caption: “Wow, are you serious? This message was probably not meant for me.”

Lehmann was sacked by Hertha in a statement released by the club’s president, Werner Gegenbauer, which read: “Such statements are in no way representative of the values that Hertha BSC stands for. We distance ourselves from all forms of racism.”

Lehmann posted an apology on Twitter. “In a private message from my mobile phone to Dennis Aogo, an impression was created for which I apologised in conversation with Dennis,” he wrote. “As a former national player he is very knowledgeable and has a great presence and drives ratings to Sky.”