A mum who was evicted from the home she lived in with her two children was “dragged” out naked after taking her kids to school.
Homeowner Ruth Nestor was forced out of her home while the doors and windows were boarded up, after bailiffs arrived at the property at 9am.
A neighbour said she saw Ms Nestor, naked and being forced out of her home by bailiffs at her window, on Wednesday morning.
Raquel, who lives across the street from Ms Nestor, told Bristol Live : “She was naked, I could see her from the window outside and there were policemen and male bailiffs trying to force her out.
"I could hear her saying, ‘stop, don’t come close to me, leave my bedroom.' One of the guys supporting her climbed up to her window and started to record and the bailiffs were trying to draw the curtains.”
Insolvency practitioners Richard Long and Co. administered the eviction following a confiscation order, relating to a court order in 2012. It is believed that they will now sell Ms Nestor's home.
Back in 2012, Ms Nestor was charged under the Social Security Administration Act and lost her council house on Bristol's Goodhind Street as a result.
Richard Long and Co. claim she "failed to pay the costs order made against her", but Ms Nestor disputes this and claims she has not missed a payment. Members of ACORN Bristol housing union turned up to support her but were unable to stop bailiffs gaining entry.
Richard Long and Co. claim that Ms Nestor took off her clothes when the bailiffs arrived.
However, Ms Nestor said: "I was asleep in bed and I was naked and they actually came into the house and just dragged me down the stairs with my spine bumping all the way. I am in a lot of pain and distress.
“I’m a vulnerable adult with a disability, I’ve got a damaged spinal cord. The bailiffs came through the door as soon as my children left for school.
"They dragged me and pushed me out of the door, naked as I was born, body shaming me. My neighbours gave me a dress to put on."
After being removed from inside, Ms Nestor remained in her back garden where she says her next-door neighbours provided her with clothes and a cup of tea. She remained in her garden for several hours while the bailiffs continued to board up her doors and windows with her belongings remaining inside.
Ms Nestor believes the bailiffs "had no right" to evict her, and claimed: "They’ve broken the doors and trashed my home and all my possessions have been thrown around.”
The bailiffs on the scene were from the National Eviction Team (N.E.T) which was formed in 1995 and is part of the High Court Enforcement Group. Richard Long and Co already attempted to evict Ms Nestor twice in 2021, but were unsuccessful following support from ACORN and neighbours who stood in the way of the door.
On this occasion the N.E.T bailiffs, who describe themselves as protester, squatter and traveller removal experts, forced Ms Nestor out of her home despite the crowds gathered in support. Police were also present as the eviction was carried out.
The National Enforcement team declined to comment when asked if they forcefully removed Ms Nestor by "dragging" her down the stairs naked, "bumping [her] spine along the way" as she described. A spokesperson for Richard and Co. claimed that one of the N.E.T bailiffs sustained an injury during the eviction.
Once Ms Nestor was outside, the back door and lower windows were boarded up. The contractors struggled to board up the front door, and removed the handrails that were installed due to Ms Nestor’s disability, in order to secure the front door.
Ms Nestor says her belongings remained inside the property yesterday and her children, who were at school at the time, had no idea that they would not be able to come home. She has been advised to go to Temple Street and apply for emergency accommodation.
Her next-door neighbour Hana said: “It’s really unfortunate what’s happened to her. I wouldn’t want to see anyone going through anything like that so I just hope it can get resolved for everyone’s sake."
Ms Nestor said that she was given a court order to pay, for which she has set up a standing order, and she claims she has not missed any payments, but Richard and Co. disputes this. Ms Nestor claims she had been told to pay more than was originally owed due to interest added on to the debt and additional charges which she disputed.
She said: “I have a letter from the court which says that I have not missed any payments. I paid more than what the court asked me to pay, which is £10 per fortnight, I pay £25 every week. It’s only £5,000 of which is interest. They haven’t made an application for the costing order so they have no legal grounds to pursue me for that money.
"It’s a disputed claim, on the fact that they didn’t make the application within the six month period.
"They cannot discharge a property from a mortgage, only a bank can do so. The bank said in the presence of everyone here that they have not sent anyone here to repossess the property.”
A spokesperson from Richard Long and Co said: “Ms Nestor failed to pay the Confiscation Order, or the costs order made against her in respect of her conviction. In October 2019, Nigel Heath Sinclair of Richard Long & Co, was appointed by the Crown Court at Bristol as the Receiver of Ms Nestor’s assets, namely the Property, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
“The object of his appointment was and still remains to recover the funds Ms Nestor owes the Court in respect of the Confiscation Order and Costs Order. The Receivership Order requires Ms Nestor to give the Receiver possession of the Property.
“She has failed to do this during the past two years and although she and her partner have lodged a number of applications to attempt to stop the Receiver discharging the function the Court has empowered him to perform, these applications have all been unsuccessful. Due to Ms Nestor’s failure to pay the money she owes in respect of her criminal conviction the Receiver is obliged to enforce the possession order.
“We are aware that Ms Nestor has engaged with a local community group, ACORN, to frustrate this enforcement action, which they have done on two earlier occasions."
An ACORN member who attended, who was not named, said: “The bailiffs were able to enter the property before ACORN members were able to mobilise, and since they were high court bailiffs they were able to use force on our members to ensure they got what they wanted, while we legally of course could not. The bailiffs behaviour and aggression towards Ruth as seen by our members was disgusting, as was the attitude of police."
A spokesperson from Avon and Somerset Police said: "Police attended an address in Robertson Road, Easton, Bristol at about 8.45am on Wednesday 19 October following calls from both a householder and High Court bailiffs attempting to carry out a court-ordered eviction. Officers attended to prevent a breach of the peace. There have been no arrests."
