Petty neighbour wars over a fence and a gate prove it is always better to settle, warns Judy Finnigan. Two separate cases saw homeowners lose their properties after refusing to pay legal costs and damages.
Fence dispute led to eviction
Earlier this year, Jenny Field of Poole in Dorset tore down a new fence put up by her neighbours because she claimed it encroached a tiny strip of her land barely 30cm wide. She erected another fence where she thought it should be.
This sparked a five-year legal battle. Ms Field, 77, was repeatedly found to be at fault and ordered to pay costs and damages. She refused. When her neighbours' legal fees topped £113,000, a judge ruled enough was enough. Bailiffs were despatched to her house. She was evicted, they took possession, and the house was forcibly put on the market.
Gate dispute reaches High Court
This week saw a startlingly similar story. Adrian Udal, 66, a master bell-ringer in Fulham, West London, took umbrage when his new neighbours installed a modest front gate on the very day they bought their house. He took it upon himself to remove it.
That was back in 2023. Mr Udal's outraged neighbours sued him and won. A judge called the case one of "wanton destruction" and ordered Udal to pay £10,000 in damages and £85,000 in costs. He refused point-blank to do so, even telling his neighbours to their faces he had no intention of stumping up.
Back to court – the High Court, this time – for an order to sell Udal's home so the debt can be settled (a sum which has now risen to £129,500 and further costs of £25,000). Mr Udal was this week given until October 2 to pay up. Otherwise, some rather burly chaps with legal papers poking out of their back pockets will be coming to call.
Golden rule
How do people get themselves into such a mess? There's a golden rule here. "Love thy neighbour". And if you can't love them, treat them as you would be treated yourself. And if things DO begin to go wrong... three little words. Settle. Settle. Settle.
