A SIX year legal battle over a garden shed in Corbridge ended in the Court of Appeal last week.

The 6ft by 4ft wooden structure, which sits alongside a flower bed at the rear of Greencroft Avenue, is owned by Duke and Carol Maskell.

But neighbour Rune Dybedal claimed the shed and flower bed were unlawfully causing a bottleneck in an unmade access lane at the back of his home, which he rebuilt in 2010.

He argued provisions within the deeds of his property stipulated the right of way should be 16 feet wide along its whole length. And, in an attempt to have the shed removed, applied for a court order which was refused during a hearing at Newcastle County Court.

Mr Dybedal then took his fight to London’s Appeal Court, asking judges to reverse the decision.

However, at a hearing last Thursday, the appeal was dismissed and Mr Dybedal was ordered to pay the legal costs relating to the case.

In a statement Mr Dybedal told the Courant : “The Court of Appeal created a sad precedence that people cannot rely on conveyance documents and title plans which are in scale showing an uninterrupted road where there was never any reference to any obstructions in the access. Being an attorney I was forced to address the issue in the courts which has been a disappointing experience with what I believed was a well-developed court system.”

Emma Heather, partner at Hexham-based legal firm Nicholson Portnell, said her clients, Mr and Mrs Maskell, felt they had no choice but to stand up to their neighbour.

“This is the end of a very tough period for my clients who have faced years of worry and concern,” she said.

“The first correspondence about this came in 2011, it first went to court in 2013, followed by a trial in the summer of 2015 and the news that Mr Dybedal had lodged an application to appeal the decision came in 2016.”