A “nightmare” neighbour has illegally demolished his half of a semi-detached house.
Chris Rhodes said his gable wall had become unsafe after a storm, requiring him to pull it down to “avoid any risk or danger to others and their properties”.
However, his neighbour Shivarna Mitra, 44, who lives in her three-bedroom home in Pudsey, Leeds, with her three-year-old child and elderly mother, said the demolition had left her family “exposed”.
“From the foundations, first floor, second floor and up to the roof, I am now exposed,” she told MailOnline, adding that rubble left behind had brought rats and wasps into her home.
Ms Mitra said the demolition, which the council said was conducted “without necessary permissions”, had spread damp and mould across her home at a time when she was recovering from cancer.
Holes in the roof and walls had also led to rainwater damaging the electrics, carpet and wallpaper, she said, adding that she feared the destruction would make her home structurally unsafe. “The whole ordeal has been a nightmare and it’s caused me to be very ill,” she said.
Ms Mitra said she had saved up to buy her home and spent £80,000 on renovations after moving into the property in May 2021, but worried it was now unsellable.
