A ‘NIGHTMARE neighbour’ must remove the caravan that has been blighting a residential area for years.

Lady Lillie and Lord Mark Goddard are still keeping the mobile home at their property in Loxely Walk, Park South.

It sparked scores of complaints from neighbours, which resulted in Swindon Borough Council seeking an injunction to force the couple to remove it.

Now, in a hearing before Swindon County Court, a judge ruled that their “quiet residential area has been inconvenienced” and breached rules which prevented them from doing just that.

Mr and Mrs Goddard must now remove the caravan by August 5, or the council will remove it.

There was initially not enough room in the couple’s garden for the caravan, which arrived on the back of a trailer in July 2019, before a wall was partially removed to accommodate it.

But Swindon Borough Council claimed that this broke several covenants - legal rules contained with the deeds of a property, which set out what can and cannot be done with the land.

The couple also had a storage container for several months which has since been removed.

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Council prosecutor Daryl Bigwood had told the court that there are three covenants that were breached - which state that the property cannot be used to cause annoyance to the council or neighbours, that no structure is to be erected without the permission of the council and no caravan is to be parked on the property, except in a position approved by the council.

He said that the couple breached all three.

The court heard that the static home “affected the amenity of the area”, residents were asked to move their cars to make way for it and that the council has “been put to some expense”.

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At a previous occasion, Mr Bigwood had said: “The use of the static caravan as a place of residence, and the use of the shipping container, has caused a great deal of annoyance to the residents, to the point there have been a number of articles in the Swindon Advertiser, a Facebook group has been set up, and the council has received a number of complaints.”

But Mrs Goddard, who represented herself via video link, claimed that the covenants did not apply to her.

She said that as the council sold the house in 1997 to another buyer, and she was not aware they existed, they did not apply.

But deciding on the case, District Judge Peter Hatvany said that it was “clear” the covenants did apply, and found that they were breached.

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District Judge Hatvant continued: “She has made attempts as to where it can be moved. She simply doesn’t know how she can comply.

“She has very limited finances and is worried about that.”

In a previous hearing, Mrs Goddard claimed that when she bought the house, it was unfit to live in and she was forced to live in the caravan whilst renovating the property.

It is now rented out as a house of multiple occupancy.

The couple now have 56 days to remove the caravan, or the council will take action to have it removed.

Mrs Goddard will have to meet the council’s costs of £5,000.

Councillor Gary Sumner, the cabinet member for strategic infrastructure, transport and planning, said: “I am really pleased the court supported our application for an injunction as the caravan, and container before it, had been causing real issues for local residents.

“This has been a long, drawn out process which has been going on for many years and it is a shame we have had to go down the legal route to have the caravan removed. I look forward to seeing it finally taken away so residents can begin to put this whole episode behind them.”