The neighbours who turned the Garden of Eden into a war zone

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The neighbours who turned the Garden of Eden into a war zone

April 20th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Couples become embroiled in feud following rows over parking and a hedge
Years of disputes culminated in undignified fight in the flower beds
Judge’s ruling leaves one couple facing a £500k legal bill

By
Neil Sears

PUBLISHED:

17:35 EST, 20 April 2012

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UPDATED:

17:36 EST, 20 April 2012

When they bought a beautiful 17th-century barn conversion near the banks of the River Eden, Tony and Corinne Branson looked forward to a blissful retirement.

But rows with neighbours over parking and a hedge turned their paradise into hell. Years of disputes culminated in an undignified fight in the flower beds, an attempt to free the Bransons’ herd of alpacas, and litigation in the civil courts.

Yesterday the couple were hoping for peace at last after a judge declared them the victors and left their neighbours Pedro and Mavis Marrero facing a legal bill of almost £500,000.

Facing a bill for almost £500,000: Pedro and Mavis Marrero have been told the cough up after losing the legal battle

Battleground: The disputed hedge - described during the conflict as an 'overgrown eyesore' in front of The Byre. The Forge is to the left

Battleground: The disputed hedge – described during the conflict as an ‘overgrown eyesore’ in front of The Byre. The Forge is to the left

Mrs Branson, 45, told the Daily Mail: ‘Everyone who comes here says it’s like a piece of heaven – you don’t expect your neighbours to start plotting and doing nasty things. It’s been a nightmare.’

The scene of battle is a development of three former farm buildings in the rolling countryside near Edenbridge, Kent. The Forge, now worth £700,000, was bought by the Marreros in 1992, and The Great Barn by the Bransons in 1993.

The Marreros also bought The Byre, now worth £500,000 and lying between the other houses, to let to tenants. The deeds made clear that visitors to The Byre were allowed to park only one car in a space on the forecourt outside.

But Dartford county court heard in November that the Marreros, in their 60s and the retired owners of an engineering firm, repeatedly told their tenants they could park anywhere they liked. The court judgment revealed that matters came to a head in 2007, when the Bransons asked the Marreros to stop people parking in the wrong place.

When the Marreros refused, Mr Branson, a former chartered accountant, fenced off most of the forecourt, constructing a beech hedge around the area which he believed was adequate parking for the neighbours’ visitors.

The dispute exploded into violence in July 2009, when 63-year-old Mr Branson was settling down with a glass of wine to watch the Wimbledon men’s singles final. His wife spotted former policeman Geoffrey Franklin, 57, who was renting The Byre from the Marreros, clipping away with garden shears at the hedge, which he claimed was an ‘overgrown eyesore’. Mr Branson rushed outside.

Victory: Corinne and Tony Branson won the civil court case

Victory: Corinne and Tony Branson are hoping for peace and quiet after a judge sided with them in their civil court case

The judgment continued: ‘Mrs Branson followed with a dictaphone. She found her husband and Mr Franklin locked together in the flowerbed inside their garden. Mr Branson said he had been assaulted and told her to call the police.

‘Mr Franklin, who had drunk three cans of Carlsberg before picking up his shears, said the assault was in fact by Mr Branson on him with a stick, causing a nasty gash on his forehead. Mr Branson suffered a black eye and minor bruising on his left arm.’

Mr Branson, who admitted calling Mr Franklin ‘a moron’, was arrested and tried for assault, but was cleared when magistrates rejected Mr Franklin’s version of events. The Bransons then launched the civil case to establish their rights to have their hedge where they liked, saying their neighbours ‘made their lives a misery’.

In his ruling, the judge said he believed Mr Marrero left open all ten gates on the field where the couple kept their dozen alpacas. Fortunately none was harmed. In another incident, Mr Franklin and his family walked past the Bransons’ windows holding shotguns and Mr Franklin stuck two fingers up, an incident caught on camera.

Let loose: The alpacas' field had all ten gates left open

Let loose: The alpacas’ field had all ten gates left open. The battling neighbours now ignore each other

Following the hearings at Dartford, Judge Simpkiss ruled strongly in the Bransons’ favour, saying they were within their rights to plant their hedge. He granted injunctions banning trespass on the Bransons’ property or misuse of the parking area. He also ruled that Mr Marrero and Mr Franklin had harassed the Bransons.

He ordered Mr Marrero to pay damages totalling £4,000 and to pay 90 per cent of the Bransons’ costs, which are well over £500,000. Mr Franklin, an undischarged bankrupt, faces costs of up to £40,000. The judge said: ‘This case is a good example of something that ought to have been sorted out without recourse to the courts.’

Mr Branson, who said the battling neighbours now ignore each other, said: ‘Even when my costs are paid I’ll still be £100,000 out of pocket, but it’s like paradise here, so that’s why we wanted to fight for it. We weren’t going to be driven out by harassment.’ Mr Franklin said he was planning to appeal. The Marreros were unavailable.