A father has been forced to sell his home after a “bitter” feud over a garden fence erupted with his neighbour.
The position of a fence in the back garden has caused a long dispute between Mark Coates and his wife Louise and their neighbours Brian Greenwood and Janice Turner.
An argument arose over the position of a fence and ownership of a track beside their homes in the East Sussex near Hastings.
When the couples first arrived in court in 2020, they were warned that the dispute could end in financial ruin for one of them.
A father has been forced to sell his home after a “bitter” feud over a garden fence erupted with his neighbour
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Mark – who is a full-time carer for his disabled son – and his wife face have now lost the case, with court bills topping £475,000.
The only way the debt could be paid was with the forced sale of their property, which is thought to be worth about £420,000.
Mark told the judge that he doubted whether the house would sell for that amount, adding: “I don’t know who would want to live next to them anyway.”
The neighbours began arguing over the boundary between their gardens and an access track bought by their neighbours behind it.
Janice refused to take down a fence in replacement of a brick wall, as she claimed it encroached on her property.
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The court heard the neighbours had all set up “surveillance cameras” to monitor each other.
In September 2022, Judge Sarah Venn found against Mark and Louise at Hastings County Court over the position of the boundary.
Mark was brought back to court in October 2023 and accused of “juvenile behaviour” by his neighbours.
He allegedly swore at his neighbours and threw stones at their bedroom window.
The judge was shown a video which she said showed Mark approaching Janice, “visibly angry” and making “abusive comments and engaged in physically threatening behaviour.”
The neighbours began arguing over the boundary between their gardens and an access track bought by their neighbours behind it
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He was jailed for 252 days for contempt of court, reduced after 47 days to allow his immediate release at the Court of Appeal in December last year.
The Coates, who represented themselves, argued that they still have cases running in other courts which might see the boundary row continue.
“We are not going to stop fighting this matter, even if it’s eight or 10 years down the line,” Mark told the judge, Master Brightwell.
“We haven’t got money. We are representing ourselves because we haven’t got any money. The only asset we have is the property. It’s our house for our disabled son and ourselves.”
Ruling that the house should be sold, the judge said there was “no reasonable prospect” of the debt being repaid otherwise.
