Thursday 16 June 2022 07:01 PM Pensioner who drilled holes in neighbour's garden wall REFUSES to stop campaign ... trends now
A pensioner drilled holes in his neighbour's garden wall claiming it encroached on his land by two inches, and erected placards accusing the family of being thieves.
Despite a £90 fine for damaging the wall with a drill, Ewen Taylor is refusing to stop his campaign until the wall is replaced to the same 'height, depth and width as it was before'.
The 87-year-old has accused his neighbours of 'illegal building work' and says they should sue him if they want him to take his signs down.
The family, who built the extension to create more dining space, say the row has left their children 'embarrassed to go out'.
For several months Mr Taylor, from Cardiff, has been putting wooden placards at the front of his house in the Grangetown area.
The 87-year-old's messages include: 'You and your cowboy builder are thiefs [sic]'; 'Other councils take down illegle [sic] building work'; 'Will they sue me?'; and 'Do not like my signs, tell the council'.
The display shows the street number of the next-door family, who said: 'It needs to stop.'
Mr Taylor, a retired bricklayer who has lived in his house for around 50 years, said his anger was sparked in 2020 when the family built an extension in their back garden.
Ewen Taylor, 87, claims that his neighbours in Cardiff have rebuilt a garden wall two inches onto his land, and he has since began a campaign to have the wall demolished
Pictured: Pensioner Ewen Taylor drilled holes in his neighbour's garden wall and put up signs complaining that their new extension encroaches on his garden by a couple of inches
One of the signs put up by Mr Taylor and the holes he drilled that have since been covered
He claims the family removed the garden wall they previously shared and replaced it with a new one - which he claims juts into his own garden.
'It's a matter of two inches but it's my property,' he said. 'Even if it was half an inch I would object.'
The neighbours - a married couple with four children aged eight to 20 - deny any encroachment.
The mother, 42, said: 'I have no idea why he thinks it is in his property. It is distressing, especially for my children. They are embarrassed to go out when people ask questions about the signs.
'This has been very stressful for us and very upsetting. We didn’t want to upset anybody.
'I wish it would all be over.'
The family's extension pushed back their bathroom to create more dining space.
Builders knocked down the old garden wall - which Mr Taylor described as 'a random rubble wall with a cock and hen finish' - and built a concrete replacement.
'Since we moved in 20 years ago [Mr Taylor] hasn't talked to us,' said the woman. 'We hadn't had an argument or anything. This is the first time there's been any confrontation.
Mr Taylor says the matter should be dealt with by the council who have said it is a civil matter
Family who live next door say they are embarrassed by the collection of signs Mr Taylor uses
Mr Taylor won't take down his signs until the wall is the 'same height, depth and width as it was before'
'Cardiff Council says there's no need for a planning application for extensions of six metres and this was within six metres. Then after the work was finished [Mr Taylor] drilled straight through.'
Mr Taylor accepts he used a drill
