A retired builder in Essex is refusing to pay a £200,000 legal bill after losing a bitter boundary dispute with his neighbour over just 16 inches of land.
Samuel Horton has vowed not to hand over "a single penny" despite losing multiple court cases against Jonathan Orchard.
The dispute, which began in 2019, has left both parties unwilling to compromise.
The fraught situation began when Horton, 69, and his wife Kathleen, 68, decided to downsize from their £815,000 three-bedroom home in Downham, Essex.
The dispute centres around just 16 inches of land between both properties
Google Street View
They converted their detached garage into a two-bedroom home in 2019.
Planning officers later informed the couple that part of a retaining wall they had built was 16 inches too close to the Orchards' garden.
This sparked the ongoing legal battle between the neighbours.
The argument was initially brought to Chelmsford County Court before proceeding to the High Court three times, with the Hortons losing each case.
Their legal bills mounted with each defeat, culminating in a court order to pay the Orchards' costs of approximately £145,000.
They were also instructed to demolish the retaining wall protecting their home.
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Additional costs include £35,000 in damages, plus their own legal fees estimated at up to £100,000.
Horton maintains he has done nothing wrong, insisting he built the new house on the original garage footings.
"I will not hand over a single penny. I don't regret one bit as I am in the right and had no choice," he told the Daily Mail.
He claims his neighbour got a surveyor to "effectively re-draw the boundary line" and disputes accusations of a land grab.
Orchard, a 65-year-old semi-retired insurance consultant, has vowed to pursue Horton for the full amount. "If I have to knock on their front door with a cardboard box for their possessions so they can move out I will do that," he said.
Planning officers informed the Hortons that part of a retaining wall they had built was 16 inches too close to the Orchards' garden.
Google Street View
Describing Horton as the "neighbour from hell", Orchard said: "We never wanted any of this, but their attitude from the start has been obscene."
Orchard dismissed claims that the Hortons cannot afford to pay the legal costs.
"They might claim they do not have the money, but they sold their house for £815,000 so they do have the money even after building their smaller home," he said.
The Hortons, who are both on state pensions, have previously told the court they cannot afford to pay.
The Orchards currently have an injunction against the Hortons preventing them from squaring off their small back garden at the new build.
A plastic red fence has been installed by the Hortons to identify their land.
Outside the property, a metal stake surrounded by a painted white circle marks the boundary line.
Police have been called to the property several times during the six-year dispute.
At the High Court, Justice Miles pleaded with the Hortons to end their legal fight, saying: "They must face up to the fact that the boundary is where the judge has ordered."
Kathleen Horton claims their lives have been "ruined" by the dispute.
"We would not be able to sell the house and who would want to buy it living next door to someone like that," she said.
Neither side shows any sign of backing down.
