Our neighbours started a war over our bin shed - now our daughter's uni savings are gone

A couple have used their daughter's university savings to pay a whopping legal bill after building a bin shed at their £1 million home in a charming village. Kevin and Elizabeth Harrison-Ellis purchased their bungalow called Hillside in Goring-on-Thames, a charming village in Oxfordshire five years ago in 2020.

They soon added a first floor to their home after they were granted permission by South Oxfordshire District Council for a "first floor extension," which was completed in late 2020. In 2022, they added a wooden bin store on their driveway, which would eventually trigger a costly legal dispute with their neighbours. Stuart and Anita Hunt, who live in the property behind, complained that extension resulted in a loss of "visual amenity" from the windows of their £2.3million country home.

The Harrison-Ellises, who say they "regret" the work, have now been ordered to pay £25,000 to their neighbours but were allowed to keep the modifications to their home.

Mr Harrison-Ellis, 47, the head of sales for a renewable energy company, says in addition to this, the expenses during the legal saga have exceeded 100,000.

He said: "I regret it massively. We never wanted to be put in this position, we were stuck.

"We have had to spend all of our daughter's university fees which we were saving for. All our savings are gone just to try and defend our home."

Before purchasing the property, the Harrison-Ellises were made aware of historical building restrictions that state they could not build anything other than a single-storey home on the land once shared by the two properties.

Before purchasing the property, the Harrison-Ellises were made aware of historical building restrictions that state they could not build anything other than a single-storey home on the land once shared by the two properties.

The Hunts received the letter but did not respond, according to High Court documents prompting the Harrison-Ellises to buy the country home and seek planning permission to make the changes.

In 2023, more than two years after the work was finished, the Hunts decided to take legal action.

Mr Hunt told the court it was the introduction of the eyesore bin store, years after work on Hillside had finished, which had prompted his decision to obtain a copy of the regulations.

The High Court concluded: "In our judgment any carelessness or naivety on the part of the applicants is far outweighed by the unfairness of the objectors' behaviour.

"We have no hesitation in exercising our discretion to modify the restrictions so as to permit the extension of Hillside as it stands."

Reflecting on the judgment, Mr Harrison-Ellis said: 'It's not nice after fighting for two-and-half years - but in a way we get to keep the house that we built."