Answering the doorbell to find an unwanted delivery can be annoying. But being bombarded round the clock by pizza and drinks you haven't ordered is could drive even the sanest person nuts.

That's exactly what happened to one man in the town of Rendsburg in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. His neighbor, it turned out, had ordered him products and services from 35 different companies apparently with the sole aim of pestering him.

The poor man was constantly opening the door to unwanted merchandise and services, once having a whole barrel of heating oil delivered to his doorstep. Some of the services bordered on the bizarre: a recycling company came around to collect his couch, an emergency paramedic team turned up to help him with his apparently blocked toilet, a truck rolled around to empty a whole load of gravel on to the front lawn and even a priest once appeared to help prepare for his final rites.

The overwhelmed man finally fell ill from the constant barrage of products. He suffered from nervousness and insomnia, and ended up being described medication to calm his nerves.

The victim did manage to sue his maleficent neighbor at a regional court for fraud and bodily harm. But, his persecutor, unrepentant to the end, challenged his victim's claim and took it all the way to Germany's highest court this week -- only to have it thrown out by the judges, thus finally ensuring some peace of mind for the hapless victim.