Defiant gran, 81, beats council bullies who cemented metal fence across her garden gate
Retired teacher Helene Ball took on town hall chiefs after they blocked her garden wall – and a judge slammed their 'pugnacious' legal war.
A defiant 81-year-old gran has defeated council bosses in a bitter £50,000 court battle after they cemented a fence panel across her garden wall to trap her inside.
Retired teacher Helene Ball woke on April 26, 2023, to discover Derbyshire County Council had blocked the 98cm gap in her boundary wall with a slab of metal.
Mrs Ball, who has lived at her home in George Road, Matlock, since 1967, was cut off from the Cavendish Road car park behind her property, which the local authority had put up for sale as a housing development.
Now, following a gruelling three-year dispute, a judge has ruled in her favour and ordered the council to foot her legal bill. A first tier tribunal court heard Mrs Ball and her family had used the route across the car park unopposed for more than 40 years, with access stretching back 59 years in total.
Judge Robert Brown tore into the council’s legal team, branding their case “pugnacious”, “most unhelpful” and “surprisingly combative” given their “limited evidence” and “unsubstantiated assertions”.
The panel over her gate came down within a year, but vehicular access remained blocked for three years. Council workers have now been seen laying large concrete blocks across the site to clear a route for her car.
Mrs Ball, who fought the case with her son David, said: “I have taught nine, 10 and 11 year olds all my life but I never expected the council to act so babyish, they have been spitting their dummies out of the pram and it has been beyond childish.
“It is absolutely shocking behaviour. They did everything they could to bully me. I just want to live peacefully. I am a strong woman and it has brought out my stubborn side.
“I dealt with bullies at school and then found myself being bullied again. They tried to put us off but they messed with the wrong ones.”
She added: “We’ve been really struggling. At my age you don’t know how many years you have left and this has given me three years plus of stress but now we have proven they blocked our rights.
“I am disgusted that the council would behave in this manner and try to intimidate me into giving up. They have been exceedingly rude throughout and pushed me to my limit.”
Her rights of way will now be written into the land deeds.
The fight began under a Conservative administration before continuing under Reform UK control. The council refused to reveal the cost of its legal challenge.