Pensioner faces £30,000 court bill after 10-year feud with neighbour

A pensioner faces a £30,000 court bill following a decade-long feud with her next door neighbour. Yvonne Rogers, a retired taxi driver was sued by her neighbour Janice Wright after blocking her driveway with numerous plant pots at the property in Portchester, Hampshire.The houses are accessed by a shared single driveway, with the pair owning a half share, but each but claiming a right of way along it all. Mrs Wright was infuriated the foliage strewn across her driveway made it impossible for her to even push her grandchild’s pram up the driveway. Ms Rogers now faces a £30,000 bill in legal costs as well as a suspended jail sentence after ignoring a court order to remove the items. The Court of Appeal heard Mrs Wright’s complaints that her neighbour had begun obstructing the drive with plant pots dated back to 2012. A pensioner has been faced with a £30,000 court bill (Image: Champion News)’I accept that it is distressing for Mrs Wright to have to live next door to Ms Rogers in these circumstances,’ he said.’Mrs Wright explained to me, not only is this an encroachment of her right of way, there are also actual practical difficulties that are caused.’First, moving her wheelie bins to the front for refuse collections, and secondly getting her granddaughter’s pushchair up and down the drive is made difficult because the concrete part of the driveway cannot be used by virtue of the encroachment.’So this is not just a question of the court order being disobeyed, it is actually a matter of personal inconvenience to Ms Wright and her family.’He added: ‘I take into account the fact that Mrs Wright has clearly had this right of way being interfered with for quite some time.’By the extent of the foliage that has been allowed to grow up, one might say that Mrs Wright has indeed been very indulgent to Ms Rogers over the years.’Ms. Rogers response to the court proceedings had been to not turn up and instead send a string of emails, seeking to ‘threaten, demean and accuse’ those involved, including Mrs Wright, he said.