A bitter 'fence war' in Essex has ended with three siblings facing the loss of their childhood home after being ordered to pay over £209,000 for hacking down their neighbours' 33-foot Leylandii trees. Building boss Robert McCarthy and his wife Amanda sued Foulla Bowler, John Barberis, and Mary Englishby after the trio removed a fence and had tree surgeons fell the trees, which they claimed were overshadowing their garden.
Central London County Court heard that the McCarthy family had lived in 'relative harmony' with the siblings until 2018, when a row over the garden boundary erupted. The couple said the 'systematic destruction' of their garden in Nazeing, Essex, ruined their privacy, forcing them to live in the front of their house and ban their children from having friends over. Mrs McCarthy's mental health suffered, leading to depression, the court was told.
Judge Rules in Favour of McCarthys
Following a trial, Judge Alan Saggerson ruled that the siblings had 'trespassed' into the McCarthys' garden and taken 'unilateral action to re-order the disputed boundary.' He described their behaviour as 'high-handed, bullying' and said the couple had been 'victimised by high-handed oppressive behaviour' that went 'way beyond the ordinary course of trespass.' The judge ordered the siblings to pay approximately £30,500 in damages plus £178,668 for the McCarthys' legal costs, on top of their own significant court expenses.
During the trial, Mr McCarthy, 59, a civil construction manager, and his wife Amanda, 61, a carer, said they bought their home in Bumbles Green, Nazeing, in 2001. Mrs McCarthy described the garden as 'immaculate, very pleasant' when they moved in. The boundary dispute erupted when the siblings claimed the dividing line was beyond the fence, putting the Leylandii trees on their land. Despite knowing the dispute existed, Mrs Bowler applied to fell 29 trees in 2018, and the family cut down most of them in January 2022.
Impact on the McCarthy Family
Mr McCarthy described the felling as an 'invasion' and a 'relentless destruction of my garden,' telling the judge, 'I want my privacy back like I had.' Mrs McCarthy added that the family had stopped having friends round after being 'shouted at' by neighbours and had 'only ever used the front rooms of their house' since the trees were removed. She said she became 'depressed as a result of the stress that has been caused.' The couple sought compensation to plant new trees and restore privacy, as well as a declaration that the true boundary was the line of the old fence.
The siblings insisted they had every right to remove the fence and trees, claiming they were on their land and that the trees caused 'overshadowing' and potential damage. However, Judge Saggerson found their evidence 'less reliable and less accurate' and said they had 'persuaded themselves of the righteousness of their own case.' He criticised their 'aggressive and somewhat bullying behaviour' and awarded additional damages for trespass.
The judge refused to order the siblings to pay £105,000 for 8-metre-tall replacement trees, stating, 'No reasonable person spending their own money would do this.' Instead, he granted £5,000 for smaller trees. He noted that the siblings' property was likely to be marketed for sale to cover the costs.
