How a Tiny 1ft Strip of Land Cost a 76-Year-Old Woman Her £420,000 Home

Ever wonder how a tiny one-foot strip of land could lead to a legal showdown worthy of a headline? Well, meet Jenny Field, a 76-year-old pensioner who’s now forced to sell her £420,000 bungalow in Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset—all because of a dispute with her next-door neighbor over what’s essentially a sliver of garden real estate. Since 2020, Jenny and her neighbor Pauline Clark have been locked in a relentless boundary battle involving fences, court rulings, and eye-watering legal fees. It’s a stark reminder that sometimes, the smallest pieces of turf can cause the biggest headaches… and financial upheaval. Who knew a foot of land could cost so much more than just space? LEARN MORE

A 76-year-old woman is having to sell her £420,000 house amid a dispute over a one-foot strip of land.

Jenny Field and her next-door neighbour, Pauline Clark, have been arguing over the ownership of land between their two bungalows in a cul-de-sac in Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, since 2020.

The pensioner purchased number one Dean Close in 2016, after Clark, 64, demolished and replaced the wooden fence between the two properties in June 2020.

Field claimed she moved the fence one-foot onto her land and hired her own contractors to tear down the six-foot fence and reclaim ‘her land’.

Clark then began legal proceedings for the damage, theft and trespassing in February 2021.

It went to trial and a judge made a ruling in December 2022 that Field must pay £11,800 to Clark for the damage to the fence and a retaining wall, as well as her £2,120 legal costs.

Jenny Field and her next-door neighbour, Pauline Clark, have been in a dispute since 2020 (BNPS)

Since then, Field has repeatedly challenged the ruling and failed.

During a hearing at Bournemouth County Court, the judge said Field now owes Clark £113,266 in legal bills and must pay her debt within three months, or her £420,000 detached bungalow will be sold off.

Anna Curtis, who represents Field, told the court: “The defendant has made it clear she has no intention of paying those figures. She believes they are not legitimate claims and she is not liable for these debts.

“There has been no discussion or offer of settlement, no suggestion of refinancing or obtaining equity on the property. There has been no proper response in relation to the claim.”

She added: “I would invite you to make an order for sale because the matter has been ongoing for five years now.

“Judge Walsh ruled in December 2022 in relation to the boundary dispute.

Field now owes Clark £113,266 in legal bills (BNPS)

“That was intended to be a final order, he clearly advised in that judgement this should be an end to the matter. What followed from there was a brand new civil harassment complaint.

“An order for sale will be the only way in which this matter can be finally concluded and the parties can all move on with their lives.”

District Judge Ross Fentem said: “This is a very long-running boundary dispute. The defendant has, in various ways, sought to relitigate the original case.

“Her case is fundamentally that Judge Walsh was wrong to say the original fence was a boundary fence and that it was entirely on her land.

The dispute is about over a small fence in a cul-de-sac in Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset (BNPS)

“Every attempt to relitigate has failed. She appears to be convinced that some form of fraud has taken place.

“There is no evidence in the documentation any wrongdoing was committed.

“This matter needs resolution, the parties need to find a way of putting the entirety of this dispute behind them.

Following the lengthy legal problems, Field has accepted that she will have to put her three bedroom home on the market. She said: “I haven’t got that sort of money.

“I have estate agents coming round to put my home on the market for £600,000 so that I will have the money to pay the court.

“I am selling it because I have to and I am fed up with living here but I will offer to pay her £1 per week.”