Two British retirees who were badly beaten by neighbours after a property dispute in Hua Hin have been fined after being charged with assault for defending themselves.

Desmond and Mary Byrne pleaded guilty in a local court on Wednesday to assault and causing damage. They were given a suspended 20-day sentence and fined 17,500 baht. They were expected to be given their passports on Thursday so that they could return to the UK.

“Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles because the people are known for their hospitality and friendliness,” the British newspaper The Sun quoted Mary as saying. “But our idyllic retirement in paradise has landed us in a living hell.”

Desmond, 77, and Mary, 69, moved to Thailand in 2021, using £200,000 of their savings to buy a villa in Hua Hin. A short while later, they returned from a trip to find local residents saying that they owned the access road.

According to UK media reports, in 2023 a younger couple in their 40s came into the Byrnes’ garden and started pulling up plants and screaming abuse at them in Thai. As they approached them, the pensioners were viciously attacked by the pair, who had Muay Thai training, according to Mary.

The male attacker, reportedly from the UK, knocked out Desmond after delivering 22 blows while he was on the ground. His Thai partner, a woman, punched and kicked Mary until she fell into a flower bed.

Mary said her husband kicked his leg up at one stage but did not hit anyone.

“I strongly believe, 100%, it was in self-defence,” she said.

The attack left Desmond with severe facial injuries that required extensive hospital treatment. Mary suffered a broken nose and a brain bleed, and has since been experiencing heart problems.

The incident was captured on CCTV, but the Byrnes said police seemed to show little interest at first. Eventually they managed to press charges and the other couple were found guilty of assault and told to pay compensation.

To the Byrnes’ shock, their attackers subsequently filed a police complaint against them, and they were charged in June last year with causing their neighbours “superficial injuries and mental anguish”. The couple claim that their failure to pay a bribe left them facing a court date and the possibility of jail time.

The Byrnes had their passports seized and were forbidden from leaving Thailand.

“We just want to come home. It’s like something out of a bad movie,” Mary said.