A PENSIONER has been left bankrupt and destitute after losing her home following a parking row with her neighbour.
Marie Potter, 75, a retired primary school teacher, was evicted from her home in a south London suburb after a dispute with neighbour Kirsten McGowan, 65.
The six-year long argument stemmed from where Marie parked her blue Ford Focus and ended with an eviction notice pinned to her door.
Marie had been leaving her motor at the end of a driveway leading to a shared garage at the home where she lived for some 25 years.
But neighbour McGowan’s son complained after passing his driving test, claiming he couldn’t get around Marie’s motor to park his own car.
Marie, who has dedicated her life to the church, was accused of harassing her neighbour in a civil case over right of access.
Following the vicious dispute, Marie has been left with some £200,000 of debts which she claims are rising every day.
Speaking after losing her latest case she told the Daily Mail: “I never wanted a war with my neighbour – but all the way along the line they have been vicious and vindictive.”
She added: “To be allowed to take over a house worth £600,000 in this way is just ridiculous. I don’t understand how the law has worked in such a way.”
After the dispute Marie said she would have been left living on the streets if it weren’t for the charity of strangers.
She has reportedly been left living with at the home of a fellow church-goer while the majority of her monthly pension goes to paying the cost of storing her belongings.
Marie, who has skin cancer, says the ordeal has taken a toll on her health adding that she doesn’t think she would have survived without her friends help.
The whole experience has been surreal, Marie – who has three grandchildren, claimed.
She recalls moving into the £600,000 three-bedroom home in Shirley, Croydon, in 1988.
Marie said she had been neighbours with the McGowan family since her first day in the property.
She purchased the home after divorcing her accountant husband, Francis, who has since sadly passed away.
Marie claimed that she drove a Ford Mondeo estate when she moved in while McGowan drove a larger Ford Galaxy.
Despite the difference in size between the two neighbours motors there was never a dispute, Marie said.
It was only after McGowan’s son bought a silver Toyota that the argument began, she says.
Marie, who went to St Mark’s Roman Catholic Church – where she is a safeguarding officer and sacristan. – everyday, said her neighbour would watch as she parked her car.
CCTV cameras installed outside the McGowan household watched as she manoeuvred her motor into the shared driveway, she said.
It was in March 2018 when things took a turn with police scrambled to the scene after reports that Marie had been assaulted by McGowan’s son.
Marie said the problem stemmed from McGowan’s son’s inability to get his own car around hers, she said no one else had a problem passing her car when it was parked in the driveway.
Marie claims she tried to avoid a row but said McGowan’s son had spat at her, blown smoke at her and pushed her when the two got into a confrontation.
She said that she had thought the incident would mark the end of the escalating dispute but claims the McGowans then started a civil dispute with her.
McGowan’s son was found not guilty after a trial of the incident.
Marie was accused of harassment and blocking access to the driveway, she went on to say she wasn’t aware of the proceedings until a judgement had been filed against her.
A hearing took place at Bromley County Court in August 2020 with Marie ordered to pay McGowan £30,452.95 damages, plus £27,000 costs.
Marie never paid the money with the amount owed continuing to rise as interest is accrued and costs pile up.
She said she remained unaware of the proceedings even after an eviction notice was pinned to her door, saying it was written by hand on a scrap of paper and did not look official.
Marie failed to inform family and friends of the legal battle with relatives believing she may have failed to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.
Marie maintains that she believed there would be no legitimate case against her, while her original debt of £70,000 has now more than doubled leaving her £150,000 in the red.
She has paid around £20,000 in storage fees and the value of her property has plunged.
