Jodie Marsh was seen leaving court today after pleading not guilty to assault after allegedly 'putting her hands on her neighbour's neck' in a row over her animal sanctuary.

The ex-glamour model, 47, was pictured leaving Chelmsford Magistrates' Court, where she also denied two counts of threatening or insulting language against Christopher Hynes and Susan Hammond. 

She previously claimed the neighbour had been filming animals at her sanctuary, Fripps Farm in Lindsell, near Braintree in Essex. 

Ms Marsh said the neighbour had doctored footage to make them look 'skeletal' after trespassing onto her land.

The former bodybuilder could face six months in prison if convicted. Her case was adjourned until a hearing at Colchester Magistrates Court on May 7 2027.

Asked if she thought the charges were unfair, she said they were 'ridiculous'.

Ms Marsh spoke to confirm her name and date of birth, and her address was given to the court as her solicitor's office in London.

Deputy district judge Rhys Rosser released her on unconditional bail until her trial at Colchester Magistrates' Court.

Ms Marsh said 'thank you' to the judge at the end of the hearing.

Marsh has previously blamed online trolls for ruining her 'life dream' of running an animal sanctuary. 

The farm is home to more than 250 animals, including goats, horses, alpacas, emus, lemurs and reptiles. 

Speaking about the incident, she told The Sun: 'I put my hand on his neck because I leaned in to whisper to him.

'I can't even remember what I said because I was so upset. It lasted around 30 seconds.

'I'm scared to sleep in my own house. I'm scared to go out.'

She insisted she did not harm her neighbour in the outburst.

An Essex Police spokesman said: 'At around 12.40pm on Friday, January 16, officers were called to an address in Lindsell to reports of a woman behaving aggressively towards a man and assaulting him.

'It was further reported that verbal threats were made.

'As a result of further enquiries, charges of common assault and using threatening/abusive/insulting words or behaviour have since been authorised against Jodie Marsh, 47, of Lindsell.

'She is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Friday, April 17.'

Marsh appeared in the ITV series Essex Wives in 2002 and went on to feature in several reality shows and magazines including Celebrity Big Brother.

However she turned her back on the limelight to open the sanctuary, with many of the animals rescued from slaughter.

The Fripps Farm website also claims that Marsh has 'brought sick or injured animals back from the brink of death'.

The media personality last year had an application for lemurs to kept at her sanctuary rejected.

It was then overturned after she argued that online trolls had been behind a campaign against her.

She told the court: 'I've wanted an animal sanctuary since I was five years old - this is my life dream.'

Marsh also said that 'everybody in the public eye has trolls', adding: 'They lash out, they pick on you, as in my case.'

'When I was bodybuilding they trolled me for that, when I was modelling they trolled me for that; now it's the animals,' she said.

The court heard Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the RSPCA had not raised any concerns over the application for the lemurs, an endangered species from Madagascar.

A judge said there was 'considerable animosity between Ms Marsh and the members of the local community'.

But he added: 'Ms Marsh may not be popular in the surrounding area but, based on the evidence given to this court, I conclude that she is a person who genuinely cares for her animals.

'Ms Marsh is not, and has not been, responsible for any harm or ill-treatment [of the animals in her care].'

Marsh also defended taking a meerkat called Mabel to the pub.

She said she took the meerkat to a pub 'on a few occasions when I was hand-rearing her'. 

'The pub I would take her to was a friend's pub a mile from my house,' she said. 'It's a food pub, not a drinking pub. It's never busy in the week.'

She said she would go and get a 'bowl of chips or something for my dinner then come back'.

'Most of the time when I did take Mabel to the pub nobody even knew she was there, she was in my jumper or in her case,' she said.

She said that 'it's not illegal to take a meerkat in a pub' and that Mabel 'was hand-reared from a baby, she lives with me in the house as well'.

Marsh has previously spoken of how she has helped fund the animal sanctuary through her use of the website OnlyFans.

In 2023, she told BBC Essex that OnlyFans was 'amazing' and 'paid my staff wages for the first year'. She added: 'They all joke and say 'your boobs pay our wages'.'

Marsh also had a run-in with Paul Weller after she tried to flog his memorabilia in an online auction to raise funds for Fripps Farm.

After telling her followers that a Paul Weller gold disc, signed posters and concert tickets were up for auction, his official X page uploaded a post to say they aren't endorsed by him.

The tweet from Paul's profile on X, said: 'Paul wants it known that a recent auction that has gone live for competition prizes and memorabilia is not official and not endorsed by him'.

Marsh subsequently took to Instagram to hit out at the musician, 67, and accuse him of 'disassociating himself because I'm friends with Nigel Farage'.

In the now deleted post, she said: 'Hi guys, just a quick one. Paul Weller has got the hump because I'm friends with Nigel Farage so he's disassociated himself from the auction.

'That's fine. It's a shame we can't just all get along and have our own opinions and our own friends and just respect each other's choices. I think that's very sad. But I can assure you the auction is real.

'He doesn't want to publicly support something, that's absolutely fine. It's just very disappointing from somebody you've done nothing but promote, support and adore for years.

'I think some people care too much about their image rather than what's real in life and what matters.'

Marsh went on to claim the memorabilia was official, owned by Paul's later father John, who was the singer's manager and put up for auction with the support of Nicky Weller. 

Marsh opened Fripps Farm in 2020 following the tragic death of her mother Kristina from cancer. 

Jodie previously told Daily Mail: 'When my mum got sick, her decline was fairly quick. It was during Covid so me and my dad had to care for her at home because the hospitals had kicked all the cancer patients out.

'It was just horrific. I gave up work and gave up everything to care for my mum. And that was what made me realise that life's too short, watching my mum die in front of me.

'Why would I go and do another TV show or another photoshoot or whatever it is when that's not what I want to be doing in life? That's not what's gonna make me happy.

'What's gonna make me happy is having an animal sanctuary, because it's the only thing I've ever truly wanted. I always knew that was the end goal.'

It wasn't a hard decision for Jodie to step away from the limelight.

By her own admission, 'I hated being famous. If I had money no one would ever see me again!'