Gutted...new owners find house ripped apart
A COUPLE stand outside their “idyllic” home after winning a nine-year court battle with the previous owner, who gutted it – even taking the floors and toilets – before he moved out.
Martin and Sarah Caton bought the Grade 2* listed Bochym Manor and its 13 cottages for £1.5million in 2014, hoping to turn them into a wedding venue and holiday lets. They were horrified to discover the buildings had been stripped bare by Dr Mark Payne.
Martin, 50, who had viewed the property twice before buying in 2014, said: “After completion, it was like a war zone.
“Doors, panels, bathrooms, kitchens and floors had been torn out. Two of the external doors had been removed and rubbish had been left inside and outside the property. The holiday cottages had been gutted with trees cut down and garden structures taken away.
“Most of the curtains and carpets had also been removed that we had been paid for in addition to the purchase price.
“I was totally distraught.”
Pictures from the estate agent’s brochure and photos the couple took when they moved in show the extent of the destruction.
They spent a further £1.5million on repairs in Helston, Cornwall, while their legal case against Dr Payne rumbled on. At Truro magistrates’ court last week, Dr Payne provided no evidence to support his ownership claim and was not present when it was ordered that all the fixtures and fittings that had been “stolen” from the manor house should be returned. He was also ordered to pay costs to the police – but not to the Catons.
After the case he said he was preparing to appeal and added: “Had I committed any criminal damage, had I committed any theft, had I committed any offences under the Planning Act, I would have been prosecuted.
“Otherwise everything is just hearsay, innuendo and suspicion.”