Top Gear star’s £1m solution to row with neighbour: Buy him out
WHEN faced with a neighbourly dispute, many of us might resort to a peace offering or trying to talk things through.
But for Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond, a slightly more costly solution presented itself. He is understood to have resolved a falling out with his neighbour by buying his £1.2million mansion off him.
The presenter, who lives with his family in a Herefordshire castle, is reported to have had a series of rows with Mark O’Connor over country living.
They ended with Hammond’s PA buying Mr O’Connor’s six-bedroom home and 11-acre plot for cash.
Mr O’Connor claimed there had been a series of disputes with Hammond about sheep, dogs and ponies.
He also accused Hammond of sending people to view his property for him before ‘buzzing’ over it in his helicopter.
He told the Sun on Sunday: ‘He’s a bit of a bully who uses his clout to ride roughshod over anyone who gets in his way.’
Mr O’Connor’s house was advertised for sale in the summer with estate agents billing it as an ‘outstanding country resi- dence’, with four reception rooms and six bedrooms.
Yesterday there was no one at the house. Neighbours said Mr O’Connor had left but they were uncertain who had bought it.
Hammond, nicknamed the Hamster, has lived with wife Mindy and their two daughters in the castle near Ross on-Wye, Here- fordshire, for about six years. He is thought to earn around £1million a year for presenting Top Gear. He has also signed a deal that gives him a share of the commercial revenue generated by BBC Worldwide, in return for promoting the show around the world. The deal is believed to be worth millions of pounds a year.