Deafening drums ‘used to harass couple’ in £150k leaky gutter row
Judge bemoans costly proceedings in dispute over matter of ‘inches’ as neighbours go toe to toe
A CHURCH-GOING couple have been accused of using their daughter’s “deafening” drumming to harass a neighbour in a fight over a leaky gutter, a court heard.
Robert Flach, 56, an insurance broker, and his wife, Helena, are locked in a legal battle with translator Celia Tan, who ripped out the gutter in 2019, amid a bitter dispute over the position of the boundary dividing their properties.
Ms Tan claimed it overhung the border between their homes in Ruislip, west London, by “inches” and was leaking water on to her property.
But the Flachs insist the boundary line is five inches beyond the wall between their houses, meaning the guttering was wholly on their land, and are now suing Ms Tan for trespass and the £1,880 cost of replacing the guttering.
Ms Tan is counter-suing for £85,000, alleging a series of intrusive acts by her neighbours, including Mrs Flach encouraging her daughter Maria to play the drums loudly while the couple were at church on Sunday mornings.
As the case opened at Central London County Court, a judge warned the loser faced “pouring £150,000 down the drain” in legal costs.
The court heard that tensions between the two families built after Ms Tan and her daughter, Rebecca Edge, moved into a two-bedroom house, now valued at about £700,000, next door to the Flachs’ £1.2million home in Old Hatch Manor in October 2009.
The Flachs’ barrister, Adam Swirsky, explained the core issue to be decided by Judge Alan Saggerson was the position of the boundary between the two properties, with Ms Tan claiming that it runs through the middle of the flank wall of the Flachs’ garage extension.
Mr Swirsky told the court Ms Tan had been handed a criminal behaviour order after being convicted of harassment following a trial at Isleworth Crown Court in 2016.
Ms Tan, 53, who came to the UK in 1995 to study English, claims that guttering was positioned so that it dumped rainwater on her land and as a result she decided to remove it.
The warring neighbours are also fighting over fences in the front and rear garden, with Mr Swirsky suggesting Ms Tan has “gradually over time” moved them “further over into the Flachs’ property”, which she denies.
Ms Tan is seeking compensation for an alleged reduction in value of her home, caused by trespass, encroachment and damage – and also wants an injunction barring the Flachs from siting what she claims is intrusive CCTV.
She alleges a series of intrusive acts, including trespass and damage to fence panels, a mature tree and garden wall, as well as “nuisance by videoing her and her family in her garden both with handheld devices and CCTV”.
Ms Edge gave evidence that the Flachs would leave their daughter at home playing the drums when they went to church, adding: “She would play for 40 minutes per day on average”.
It was put to Mrs Flach that she was being accused by her neighbour of harassing Ms Tan by “encouraging” her daughter to play the drums.
Mrs Flach replied: “Maria was sitting her grade five exams and needed practice time.”
At a pre-case session, Judge Saggerson bemoaned the cost of the litigation over such a small piece of land, saying: “I know this is all very vexing for the neighbours, but we are talking about inches”. He asked: “How much are the parties pouring down the drain on this dispute?” before adding: “The loser will have to spend £150,000 sorting it out”.
The hearing continues.