Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

Booty battle

Family at war over £5million estate of telly series farmer

- BY STEPHEN WHITE

STEP MUM

THE son of a mega-rich farmer dubbed the “car boot king” is fighting his step-mum for a slice of his dad’s £5million will.

Richard Scott – who died aged 81 last June – made a packet running the events at his “vast” farm, where ITV’S Boot Sale Challenge was filmed from 2003 to 2004.

The High Court in London was told Mr Scott’s eldest son Adam, 56, had worked side by side with his dad from the age of nine and had expected to be left the farm and business in Chelford, Cheshire.

But in 2016 after Richard wed Jennifer Scott– 28 years his junior and two years younger than Adam – he wrote his son out of his estate. He left Jennifer, his partner for 25 years, to control his millions. Adam claims his father was not in his right mind when he made his final wills and is challengin­g them. In a preliminar­y hearing, his lawyers said he’d helped his dad run the estate and manage the car boot sales for more than 40 years. Judge Nicholas

CAR BOOT KING

Caddick QC was told by Adam’s barrister William East: “Throughout his childhood, Richard encouraged Adam to involve himself as fully as possible on the farm. Adam was assured he would one day take over the farm and the farm business.”

He said Adam worked on the farm for little or no pay, often 100 to 130 hours per week and without holidays.

But lawyers for Jennifer claim Richard knew what he was doing when he disinherit­ed Adam.

They said the pair’s relationsh­ip “completely broke down” after Adam tried to get his dad sectioned. Richard, who owned a Rolls Royce but preferred to drive around in an old Skoda, owned “a huge quantity of land” at the time of his death from cancer, the court heard.

His business attracted controvers­y and he admitted he’d had menacing phone calls and a written death threat.

Rory Brown, for Jennifer, told the judge: “Jennifer is the widow of the deceased and was appointed executor. There are lots of beneficiar­ies.”

Richard’s first wife, Adam’s mum Janet, died in 1976.

Jennifer’s sons, Gordon and William Redgrave-scott, and Adam’s sister Rebecca Horley are in the wills.

Judge Caddick granted an injunction barring Jennifer, Gordon and William from “trespassin­g” on parts of the estate where Adam holds tenancies. The full trial is set for later this year.

ELDEST SON

 ??  ?? Jennifer Scott outside court Richard Scott died in 2016, aged 81 SPRAWLING Buildings at the family’s huge farm, above, one of the car boot sales POPULAR Tag from the telly series Adam was cut out of dad’s will
Jennifer Scott outside court Richard Scott died in 2016, aged 81 SPRAWLING Buildings at the family’s huge farm, above, one of the car boot sales POPULAR Tag from the telly series Adam was cut out of dad’s will

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