Yob who ripped out front gates on neighbour’s home on day he moved in must sell £1m home to pay court bill

A PARLIAMENT bellringer who ripped out his neighbour’s front gates on the day he moved in must sell his home to pay a £1million court bill. Nicholas Partick-Hiley had been excited to move into the £2million mews cottage in Fulham, South West London, with his wife Lisa. Adrian Udal (back) and a helper destroyed his neighbours’ gate Credit: Champion News Udal now faces selling his £1m home to pay his court bill Credit: Champion News Service But his mood was dampened when he arrived on the day of completion to find Adrian Udal demolishing the door and gate on his brand new home. Udal, 66, insisted he had a right to carry out the work as he owns the land the gate was on. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! But the Nicholas and his wife sued their neighbour and won after Judge Nicholas Parfitt branded Udal’s actions “wanton destruction” and “carefully pre-planned”. The bellringer was left facing a £100,000-plus bill after being ordered to pay damages and the lawyers’ costs of the case. After hearing Udal has “no intention” to pay what he owes, a judge at the High Court ordered the sale of his home to pay off his debts to his neighbours. Deputy Master Martin Dray said: “The claimants are out of pocket and owed a considerable amount of money, which is ever increasing. “The defendant has made no attempt to repay any part of it…quite the contrary, he has disclaimed any liability to pay one penny piece.” He granted the couple an order, enabling them to enforce charging orders already made over Udal’s property by selling it to recover their debts. Most read in The Sun The Partick-Hileys use the drive that Udal owns to gain entry to their property Credit: Champion News Service Ltd A trial at Mayor’s and City County Court heard both homes are in an unusual layout, with the Partick-Hileys’ house located behind Udal’s property. It is reachable across a drive and through a passageway, which passes under part of Udal’s house and into their courtyard. The drive and passageway are owned by Udal, but the couple have the right to pass over it to get to their house, the court heard. Mark Warwick KC, for the pair, said: “On the day of completion, Mr Partick-Hiley arrived at the property at about 12.10. “He was astonished to find Mr Udal and another man. The two men were in the process of destroying the door and gate. “No advance warning of any kind had been given by Mr Udal, or anyone on his behalf, that such extraordinary behaviour was going to happen. “His actions were plainly carefully pre-planned. No amount of persuasion, including the involvement of the police, has caused him to resile, or seemingly regret, his actions. “The impact of these actions, and contentions, has been serious, their quiet enjoyment and actual enjoyment of their home has been disrupted.” The couple sued for an injunction against Udal, claiming the right to put up new gates across the opening which leads to their house and cited “security concerns” in the street. They said they were aware of a conflict between their home’s previous owner and Udal before moving in, but thought it was settled. The couple had only just picked up the keys to their home Credit: Champion News Service They successfully sued Udal for tearing out the gate Credit: Champion News Service Through their solicitors, they had contacted him two months before the move saying they planned to install “better looking and more functional gates” once they moved in. The couple also made clear they would welcome Udal’s input on the style and design of those gates. But they claimed their new neighbour instead began plotting how to remove and install new gates. They accused him of buying his own set of metal barriers on July 13, 2023, which Mr Warwick claimed showed that “he was planning to carry out the destruction of the existing gates”. The judge later ordered Udal to pay £85,000 up front towards the couple’s lawyers’ bills, on top of the £10,000 damages, with interest accruing daily. But having failed to pay, the case came back to court, with the couple applying for an order for possession and sale so they can get the money they are owed. Giving judgment, Deputy Master Dray said there had been a “frosty conversation” between the neighbours after Christmas last year when Udal “made it quite clear he had no intention of making any payments.” He said the bellringer had not engaged in the proceedings relating to the sale of his house, but that he could not be allowed to “derail” the case and went on to make the order in his absence. “It seems to me that, on the evidence before the court, the scales are tipped decisively in favour of the claimants, and making an order enforcing the charging orders by way of sale and possession,” he said. The sale order is to enable the couple to enforce a debt from the original case which now stands at around £104,500, but Udal was also ordered to pay a further £25,000 in costs of the hearing today. The judge said that possession of the house would have to be handed over within 28 days, but that it would not be enforced if Udal pays up before October 2.