A family claims they have been ordered to hand their home of 31 years over to their neighbours to sell following a row over just three inches of land.
The Constantine family say they have been told to move out of their house in East Ham, London, and give their keys to their neighbours, the Alis, after losing a legal battle over an extension.
The two families have been locked in an eight-year row after the Constantines accused the Alis of trespass by building their extension on three inches of the Constantine garden.
The Constantine family say they have been told to move out of their house (pictured left) in East Ham, London, and give their keys to their neighbours, the Alis, after losing a legal battle
Sardar Ali (pictured left) and Herman Constantine (right) have been embroiled in a row over a boundary for more than eight years. Mr Constantine has lost his latest appeal
Now, a court has decided that the Constantines must move out of their home in less than three weeks and hand the seven-bedroom £600,000 home to the Alis to sell to cover their legal fees.
The Sun reports Yvette Constantine, 57, and husband Herman, 66, who have three adult children, have been left devastated by the ruling, which means they could be left homeless over Christmas.
The Constantines had accused the Alis of knocking down their fence and building an extension three inches into their garden when they were on holiday back in 2009, and the case ended up in the Civil Courts in 2012.
A judge sided with the Alis and the Constantines lost their subsequent appeals, and have now been ordered to leave their home by January 5 and hand over the house to cover their neighbours’ legal fees.
The Constantine family have been ordered to hand over their house (pictured centre, with red roof) to their neighbours
Sardar Ali, 62, his wife Haliman and their son Tajammul, 36, have been given the right to sell the property in East Ham, east London, for at least £500,000.
Legal papers show that £132,544 from the sale will pay the Ali family’s legal fees.
The remainder will be given back to the Constantines.
A source said: ‘They will lose the house they had for 31 years and be homeless after Christmas. All because they objected about a neighbours’ fence.’