The only gays in village, the parish council veteran and a ‘vendetta’ over a parking space
THEY describe themselves as the ‘only gays in the village’.
And civil partners Neil berry and Wesley shepherd have become embroiled in a bizarre spat that seems almost worthy of TV’s little britain.
the couple have accused their neighbour, a parish council veteran, of triggering a vendetta against them over a parking space next to their £850,000 thatched cottage in the picturesque village of Upper clatford.
they have even called the police after videoing a ‘homophobic assault’ on them by a council contractor hired to erect a fence on the disputed land.
in a further twist, their neighbour Des Gale admits creating a log bench for himself directly behind their house where he often sits facing their bedroom.
but he told the Mail he has nothing against gay people, saying he is on chatting terms with a lesbian blacksmith and once went to parties at Mr berry’s house featuring ‘butlers in the buff wearing nothing except little aprons and bow ties’.
the colourful row has shattered the genteel tranquillity of the Hampshire village, with its medieval church and riverside green. Mr berry, 53, moved in to his 18th century cottage more than a decade ago, and later received planning permission to double its size.
but over the years tensions developed between him and Mr Gale.
the 66-year-old retired mechanical engineer, whose family has been in the village
‘I’m friendly with a lesbian blacksmith’
for generations, is said to have started a one-man campaign to convince Mr berry and his partner their parking area was really part of the village green. the couple claim he prompted his ‘drinking buddies’ on the parish council to launch a ‘homophobic vendetta’ against them. they say the council has spent nearly £7,000 – 20 per cent of its annual budget – on a legal bid to take away part of their parking space.
the row came to a head last week when police were called after a councillor turned up at their house with a contractor to erect a fence that would have reduced the size of the parking area.
Mr berry said: ‘ When i told them they had no right to put the fence there the contractor shouted homophobic abuse at me and pushed me against a car, which Wesley managed to film. My glasses were broken and i was hurt and shocked.
‘the parish councillor just stood there. the police turned up and went away with the contractor to question him about my report of a homophobic assault.’ He added: ‘Mr Gale has complained about everything we’ve done – and drinking buddies on the council always back him up.
‘He’s also used a chainsaw to make himself a bench on the riverbank behind our garden, facing our bedroom, which seems a bit pervy and an invasion of our privacy.’
He said Mr Gale’s behaviour had left him and his partner feeling intimidated. ‘We’ve made a beautiful house in keeping with its 200 years of history,’ he added. ‘i don’t understand why there’s all this hatred. We think it can only be because we’re the only gays in the village.’
Mr berry said the problem began when the parish council suddenly registered a new plan of its village green land, and began clearing an overgrown patch next to his garden – while claiming that he had unlawfully extended his boundary.
‘it was around that time that Mr Gale decided to go back on the parish council,’ he said. ‘they’ve since spent almost £7,000 in legal fees and other costs on trying to take a few feet of land off us. it’s a fifth of the council’s annual budget. they’ve taken down a fence we had up, although the land has been part of the cottage for decades with no complaints.’
but Mr Gale insisted that the council was right to take action over an attempt to ‘steal’ land from the green. And he said he had also phoned the police after Mr berry called his wife a ‘witch’. He told the Mail the trouble started when Mr berry began extending his cottage, encroaching on public land.
threatening to sue over claims he is homophobic, Mr Gale said that he and his wife Margaret had welcomed Mr berry to the village, adding: ‘He and his partner were guests at our daughter’s wedding.
‘And as he used to be married to a woman he has three children and we treated them like grandchildren, giving them presents and letting them play in our garden. We went to a number of parties at his house where 90 per cent of the guests were gay couples and butlers in the buff. it is incorrect to say i’m homophobic. there are other peo- ple in the village who are basically gay or homosexual or whatever you want to call it. i’m very friendly with a lesbian blacksmith. but he is basically stealing land from the parish, and that is not right.’
Mr Gale said he had resigned as a
‘Wearing nothing but little aprons’
councillor after Mr berry alleged that he was behind the boundary dispute with the parish, which he denies. He claimed his neighbour was ‘just crying homophobia because he’s not getting his own way’, adding: ‘He provoked the incident with the contractor, who i feel sorry for. And i had to call the police when he called my wife a witch.’ the contractor denies a homophobic assault on Mr berry.
Amy taylor, the clerk of Upper clatford Parish council, said: ‘the council does have a boundary dispute, but it is in the hands of lawyers and we cannot openly discuss it. there is not, however, a homophobic vendetta against the couple involved, and the councillors are very upset at the suggestion’. A police spokesman said investigations were continuing.
the ‘only gay in the village’ was a catchphrase used in bbc comedy little britain by Daffyd, a ‘committed homosexualist’ who pranced around a small Welsh town dressed in black rubber.