Bear Grylls The Island star locked in bitter £1.2m neighbour row after ‘building barn too close to couple’s home’
AN ART dealer who appeared on Bear Grylls The Island has been branded a nightmare neighbour in a bitter £1.2million legal row.
Barnes Thomas, 37, allegedly conducted a campaign of harassment against falcon breeders Martin and Scott Nicholas.
The pair claim his behaviour since moving in caused £1million worth of damage to their birds in St Just, Penzance.
Legal papers lodged at the High Court in London claim he built a barn on the boundary with their land during the breeding season.
It caused so much stress to the falcons that some birds died, seven pairs failed to breed, and seven eggs were lost, the brothers claim.
They also accuse Mr Thomas of poisoning their apple trees and making false complaints to officials.
Martin, 40, and Scott, 31, run Raptors of Penwith and own 126 falcons, valued at £9.5million.
The brothers say they told their famous neighbour that excessive noise and visual disturbances during the falcons’ breeding season between March and August induced fear and stress.
It could make them smash their eggs, abandon their young, and cause a potentially fatal disease called aspergillosis.
But they say Mr Thomas ignored their concerns.
They have now issued a claim for harassment, nuisance and negligence.
The pair say Mr Thomas acted maliciously to deliberately cause a nuisance, harm the falcons, and damage their business interests.
Legal documents list 35 examples of alleged harassment, culminating in Mr Thomas’s father threatening to harm Scott Nicholas’s family, the claim says.
The brothers say three falcons died after suffering intolerable stress, including one Gyr falcon worth £150,000.
They are seeking £1,209,000 in damages, including £450,000 for ongoing breeding losses, £344,250 a year for the loss of 14 breeding pens, and an additional £30,000 each for their injured feelings after they suffered acute anxiety and distress.
This comes as neighbours across the nation find themselves in bitter legal disputes.
One couple forked out £130,000 to sue their neighbour over a loft extension.
Liz Peck and her husband Adam were furious after neighbour Debbie Ranford constructed her extension inches too close to their £1.5m home in south east London.
Another resident was forced to threaten legal action after their neighbour kept spraying their dog.
And one man told a court he had to sleep on his living room floor for two years because his nightmare raving gran neighbour blasted out 90s dance music.