Widow wins Shropshire land dispute in civil appeal court

A south Shropshire widow has finally won a court battle over a long-running land dispute with her neighbour.

Susan Wilkinson, of Rocks Green near Ludlow, has been in dispute with Frederick "Noel" Farmer over a 110-year-old right of way crossing her land to his paddock.

And yesterday, in the third round of their court battle, Mrs Wilkinson achieved victory at London's civil appeal court

Mr Farmer - described as "an ordinary family man" living in a modest cottage - was meanwhile left to pick up the estimated £100,000 legal costs.

Mrs Wilkinson has been fighting to have the right of way on a 21ft wide track next to her cottage in Rocks Green, Ludlow, cut down to just under 12ft since October 2006, when she and her husband Brian first applied to the Land Registry.

Mr Wilkinson died in June last year, but his wife fought on against Mr Farmer, who said he needed the full width of the track to gain vehicular access to his paddock and fiercely objected to any reduction in his right of way.

At the centre of the dispute — which has previously been considered by a specialist adjudicator and a circuit judge — lay an archaically-worded land conveyance, dating back to 1898.

This included a rough, hand-drawn, sketch of the land, showing the right of way.

Today, Lord Justice Mummery ruled in Mrs Wilkinson's favour after delving back to the Victorian era, when Mr Farmer's paddock was a cottage garden and the track was used by horses, carts, wagons and carriages.

After detailed perusal of the 1989 conveyance, the judge said it was clear that the gap between The Nelson Arms pub and the side of Nelson Cottage — now Mrs Wilkinson's home — was 11ft 8ins and no vehicle wider than that would have been able to use the track.

The judge, sitting with Lord Justice Aikens and Lord Justice Gross, said a judge who earlier ruled in Mr Farmer's favour had been "plainly wrong."

Mr Farmer will have to pay all her lawyers' bills, as well as his own. He must pay £25,000 towards Mrs Wilkinson's costs by the end of next month.

By Peter Kitchen