Three siblings face losing their childhood home after being ordered to pay a £209,000 court bill over a long-running boundary dispute with their neighbours in Nazeing, Essex. Robert McCarthy, 59, and his wife Amanda, 61, had lived in "relative harmony" with Foulla Bowler, 61, and her siblings until a "fence war" erupted in 2018, culminating in the siblings entering the McCarthys' garden and having tree surgeons cut down a line of 33-foot Leylandii trees. The case highlights how neighbour disputes over trees and boundaries can escalate into ruinous legal consequences.

The McCarthys sued after Mrs Bowler, her brother John Barberis, 63, and sister Mary Englishby, 59, pulled out their back fence, entered the neighbouring garden and removed the Leylandiis, which they said had been "overshadowing" their own garden. The couple told Central London County Court that the "systematic destruction" of their "immaculate" garden ruined their privacy, leaving them uncomfortable using the space for years, living at the front of the house and banning their children from having friends round; Mrs McCarthy's mental health also suffered. Following a trial last year, Judge Alan Saggerson ruled in the couple's favour on the boundary line, finding the "bullying" siblings had trespassed to hack down the trees.