A NIGHTMARE neighbour has been ordered to pay ￡10,000 after he built a huge fence blocking the entrance to the home next door.

       Andrew Fields and his partner Anja have been locked in a bitter feud with neighbour Michael Blackmore - with the couple arguing it had been "deliberately and maliciously" placed to obstruct their home.

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       Mr and Mrs Fields standing next to the of-fence-ive obstruction outside their home near Tiverton in Devon Credit: BPM

       But after a row lasting more than a year, the neighbour has been told to pay ￡10,000.

       Mr Fields' agent told Devon Live that the fence was "placed deliberately and maliciously to block a well-established access on my client's property, intended solely to create a dangerous hazard at the entrance to Bradford Farm."

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       Aerial view of the Fields and Blackmore residences on Uplowman Road, the site of the fence obstruction Credit: Google Street View

       The couple had previously been rowing with Mr Blackmore and his partner Sandra since 2018 over an application for planning permission.

       Mr and Mrs Fields wanted to convert part of their home into an office space, but their nightmare neighbours made constant complaints to the planning committee against it.

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       In 2018, Mr Blackmore complained that car lights would shine directly into his bedroom from the car park.

       In 2020, he made several further objections about the property being "too large" and questioned how the "existing amenity and privacy can be protected."

       Mr Blackmore had also made various other complaints about the Fields' plans to create a wildlife haven on their land.

       He wanted Mr Fields' beehives removed and complained about the ground being dug up to both create a lake and level out the earth.

       However, Mr Fields was given a government grant for this, the work was approved by the Environment Agency and the Devon Wildlife Trust, and his smallholding has been registered as a farm.

       Mr Fields said: "All Anja and I are doing is simply getting on with our lives, turning our smallholding into a nature reserve."

       Mr Fields said the row had cost him "￡25,000 in unnecessary costs" after taking the matter to court.

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       The fence had been "deliberately and maliciously placed" to obstruct the Fields' home Credit: Google

       The court have now declared that the fence is illegal and causing an obstruction of a right of way on the road between Tiverton and Uplowman.

       Devon Live reported the court's conclusion that Mr Blackmore had "no real prospect" of successfully defending his claim.

       Mr Blackmore now faces a court order to remove the fence and pay ￡10,000 to his rival Mr Fields.

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       The fence has been obstructing the entrance to their home since 2020 Credit: BPM