A father of five has been jailed, landed with a £475,000 legal bill and ordered to sell his family home after a bitter dispute with neighbours over a garden fence. Mark Coates, 56, and his wife Louise, 52, have been embroiled in a long-running legal battle with neighbours Brian Greenwood, 69, and Janice Turner, 65, since moving into a semi-detached house in Robertsbridge, East Sussex, in 2015.
The row began over the position of a fence and ownership of a track beside their homes, but quickly escalated into what a judge described as a 'very bitter, aggressive violent dispute'. Each side accused the other of installing surveillance cameras, while Mr Coates was alleged to have sworn at his neighbours and thrown stones at their bedroom window.
Despite a High Court judge warning in 2020 that the case could lead to financial ruin, the dispute continued. In September 2022, a judge at Hastings County Court ruled against Mr and Mrs Coates on the boundary issue. Then in October 2023, Mr Coates was found to have breached an injunction by damaging his neighbours' property and using abusive language. He was jailed for 252 days for contempt of court, though this was reduced to 47 days on appeal.
Now, with court bills totalling about £475,000, a High Court judge has ordered the forced sale of the Coates' home, believed to be worth around £420,000. Mr Coates told the judge he doubted the property would fetch that amount, adding: 'I don't know who would want to live next to them anyway.'
