 and neighbour Thomas Benton (Picture: Champion News) A top doctor who 'orchestrated' and 'ambitious' land grab on her three neighbours' back gardens has been slammed by a judge and left facing a £200,000 court bill. Veena Paes, who specialises in public health research, became embroiled in a legal battle over who owns a large rectangle of land between their homes and her own £1,000,000 house in south London. Her three neighbours had always regarded the 84ft by 20ft strip as forming a large part of each of their back gardens, Central London County Court heard. But in 2015, Dr Paes and her husband, finance boss, Melanius, started claiming documents dating back to Victorian times proved it actually belonged to them. Lawyers for the neighbours called her arguments a 'pack of lies' and accused Dr Paes of deploying 'bullying' tactics, including ripping down a trellis in a 'fit of rage' when she didn't get her way. Now, a judge has ruled against the couple, saying they had embarked upon an 'ambitious attempt to seize land that did not belong to them'. The Paes had squared off in court with neighbours Thomas and Florence Benton, Robert Gilder and Althea D'Lima, and Mohammed Shaffi – who own houses on the same road in Tooting. Melanius Paes (left) and Dr Veena Paes (right) outside Central London County Court (Picture: Champion News) The strip begins at the no parking sign and runs on for 84ft (Picture: Paul Keogh) The court heard the disputed strip of land runs behind their three houses and alongside the side wall and garden of the Paes' property, which is around the corner. Although it had been used as garden space by the three sets of neighbours, as well as those who owned the houses before them, the Paes began to claim it was actually theirs from 2015. The case reached court last month, with each side claiming that historical documents backed their claim to own the strip of land. Dr Paes told the court her neighbours had 'deprived){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A top doctor who ‘orchestrated’ and ‘ambitious’ land grab on her three neighbours’ back gardens has been slammed by a judge and left facing a £200,000 court bill.
Veena Paes, who specialises in public health research, became embroiled in a legal battle over who owns a large rectangle of land between their homes and her own £1,000,000 house in south London.
Her three neighbours had always regarded the 84ft by 20ft strip as forming a large part of each of their back gardens, Central London County Court heard.
But in 2015, Dr Paes and her husband, finance boss, Melanius, started claiming documents dating back to Victorian times proved it actually belonged to them.