These pictures show the 'war zone' that greeted a family arriving for the first time at their historic £1.5m manor home - after the seller 'gutted' it before completion. Martin and Sarah Caton thought they were buying into an idyllic Cornish lifestyle when they purchased the Grade 2 listed Bochym Manor in Helston in 2014.
But their dream move turned into a nightmare when they arrived and discovered the building had been ripped apart and stripped bare - with some of the doors, windows, fireplaces and even floors being removed. Some of the items taken included historic stained-glass windows and part of the rich wood panelling of the ten-bedroom gothic-revival home's famous library.
The couple have since faced a nine-year battle - finally winning a magistrates' court order to have items seized by the police returned to them. And these pictures show the scale of damage they were greeted with which is in stark contrast to the grand images featured in estate agent's listing.
