SWSYgrab – by Tom Bevan
A couple involved in a bitter boundary dispute watched their neighbours ”land-grab” their garden on camera – while holidaying in Australia.
Rosa Bell and her husband Murray say they looked on in horror as the boundary fence was removed, their patio was dug up, shed torn down and trees and shrubs were chopped away by contractors working for their neighbours.
The dispute was sparked when The Bells applied for an extension to the side on their three-bed detached home in Tadworth, Surrey, and as part of the application raised concern about an overhanging guttering pipe and garage wall.
But it escalated when Rosa and Murray were visiting their daughter on the other side of the world – and they say neighbours – named in legal documents as Huy Eng Myers and Michael Myers – claimed a total of 1.2 meters at one end and 76cm at the other end of the garden as their own.
Rosa said the council and police won’t take any action and she is left to pursue the matter through civil court.
Different surveys have been ‘inconclusive’ on the boundary, with only ‘crude’ deeds drawn up in the 1930s before the homes were built 20 years later.
Rosa said she failed in a court bid for damages but no legal ruling on who officially owns the land has yet been made and she claims no attempt was made by the neighbours to resolve the issue amicably.
She said: “It is such a stressful situation. We both retired and bought this lovely house that was going to be our forever home.
“But we have encountered such a nasty situation with the neighbours decided to move their boundary fencing to our property without an application to court or agreement with us.
“We were away visiting our daughter in Australia and could see them invading our property, cutting plants, trees, scrubs.
“We have tried to do everything to rectify. We have had surveys done and spent a lot of money – but these people have just taken the law into their own hands.
“There has been no consequences for them – they broke into our garden moved the shed and dumped everything in front of our kitchen patio doors.
“I don’t understand. This is a living hell. Our only option seems to be spending a fortune on solicitor’s fees to fight it.”
Rosa, 67, and Murray, 72, moved into the detached three-bed 1950s house near Epsom Downs in 2019 after buying it for £670k.
They never encountered their neighbours until two years later when Rosa applied for an extension to their house to build an office and utility room.
She added: “That is when things started to go sour. We felt the guttering was overhanging on our property so from there things turned sour.
“We had not seen our daughter for four years due to Covid so went to spend Christmas with her. But it was spoilt by this. We saw everything they were doing on camera when we were on the other side of the world.
”One day they would do one thing, then they would do something else. It was like they were teasing us knowing we were so far away.”
Rosa said they started by taking down the boundary fence, cut down all the trees and shrubs.
The first sighting on camera was in December 2022 as contractors entered their property. The whole fence was taken down and Rosa said they started ‘nibbling’ away at their garden – even carrying out work during the night.
An entire maple tree was cut and one man was seen on camera cutting her apple tree branches.
A new fence was put up by the neighbours to claim their new boundary while they were away.
Four months later the Bells put their own fence back in its original position.
But when the family were away on holiday again in June the same year, the new fence was again taken down and people were again seen entering and carrying out work in her garden without consent.
She added: “It is a lot of land. They claimed they had a boundary survey but a boundary surveyor does not give them the right or the power to move a boundary that has been in situ for more than 40 years. They have to make an application to the court or have an agreement with us. There is neither. They claim their surveyor instructed them.
“We’ve engaged solicitors and spent a lot of money already. On the original deeds it says our plot was 40ft at the back. She based everything on this. We’ve got several mappings and had surveys done that shows the plot spans out, equal into ours and theirs.
“The very old deeds were before any property was built on the land. It just says there is 40ft at the back – and she said ‘that is all we are going to give you.’
“Who takes a decision like that? Everything has been done when we are not in and they wait for us to go away.
“The police or the council won’t get involved as it is a civil matter so we have to engage legal advice. They broke into our shed, dug up patios and left everything in such a mess. We could hardly walk out into the garden.”
Rosa claimed any efforts to resolve the situation amicably with the neighbours had fallen off deaf ears.
She added: “They won’t engage. We’ve tried mediation but they ignore everything, including letters from our solicitors. As far as they’re concerned they’ve done what they did and nothing happened to them.
“What else can we do?
“I just feel our voice is not being heard.
“We feel terribly frustrated and very sad about the whole situation. We just want to move now and get out of here but we can’t sell while this dispute is ongoing.”
Legal papers relating to the case state a claim that the original boundary fence had been “accepted by both parties to be the legal boundary”
It added that in September 2020 the Bells were granted permission to build a side extension and prior to commencing work they attempted to agree the position of the boundary.
A report from surveyors was obtained in November 2020 but this was disputed by the Myers who obtained their own report which opined a different boundary position.
The legal documents show the Myers then stated their intention to relocate the fence to the position in this report.
In December 2022 the Myers, through contractors, relocated the existing fence between the properties to align with their survey while the Bells were abroad and without their knowledge or permission, the papers state.
In May 2023 the Bells removed the Myers’ fence and erected a new fence in the position it was when they moved in.
In June 2023, again while the Bells were abroad, the Myers removed that new fence and relocated it. Plants were again dug up and the shed was relocated.
The report also made reference to original documents and title plans from the 1930s but described these as ‘crude’ and ‘inconclusive.
It added: “As is common, the people who drew up the historic plans did not produce plans that one might expect today.
“What one can say is that these crude plans are very unlikely to be determinative of the boundary issue in any case.”
Rosa said they sought legal advice but lost a claim in the county court for damages, although she said this had nothing to do with the boundary itself.
When approached, Huy Eng Myers, known as Victoria, who moved into the property in with husband Michael in April 2018, declined to comment on the dispute.
But she claimed they had been the ones who had been ‘harassed’ and reiterated they had ‘won a court’ ruling on the claim for damages.
