Pensioner furious with neighbour’s ‘messy’ house says he’d welcome squatters because ‘at least they’d look after it’
A PENSIONER is so fed up with his neighbour's “messy” bungalow he has sensationally claimed he’d prefer to live next to squatters - who would “look after it”.
Peter Chidgey, 69, has reached the end of his tether living in the semi-detached bungalow in Tiverton, Devon, over the issues with the adjoining property.
The former service engineer has lived at the property with his wife for 34 years and claims that his home has been taken over by overgrown bushes and shrubs in the garden.
He claims that the bungalow has been empty for eight years after the now absent owner moved to Okehampton in South Devon.
Peter says that he even offered to help out with the maintenance of the neighbouring property but the owners refused.
He said: “The owner is about 70 and lives on Okehampton. The house is a mess - nothing is ever done to it.
“I don't know why he hasn't just sold up. He last visited around two years ago. I offered to do maintenance for him but he didn't want to know.
“There are holes in its roof - it especially affects me when I'm in my back garden.
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“Neighbours here too are also getting fed up. The council put an enforcement notice in to the owner around three years ago asking them to get it up to standard and they haven't done a thing.
“It's very frustrating to see. I don't know what to do next.”
Peter believes the property has been good for 'blackberries and birdsong' however he is calling on local authorities for urgent action to tidy the bungalow up.
He is grateful that he does not have to face the front garden of the dilapidated property and feels sorry for the neighbours who live opposite.
He added: “If I had the money I'd buy it myself. Now I'm hoping the enforcement team at the council will get their finger out. I've just had enough of seeing this mess.
“I'd sooner have squatters in there than this because at least they'd show some effort to look after it. It's a bloody great mess.”
A Mid Devon District Council spokesman said: "Our enforcement team dealt with a complaint at Anstey Crescent, Tiverton in 2014 previously advising that there was nothing untoward with the site in question and that its condition did not warrant a S215 (not being judged as harmful to the area).
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“The team has received no further complaints since then.
“For further information and to report an alleged breach, please visit our .”
