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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Angelini & Katherine Heslop & Daniel Jae Webb

Nightmare Neighbour Next Door star who lives in a run-down caravan to face legal action

One of the stars of Channel 5 documentary The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door is facing legal action from a council.

Lillie Goddard lives in a run down caravan outside her house.

Local residents have fumed over Lillie's living situation for years, with one saying: "I’m surprised it hasn’t been burnt down or something, people are very annoyed about it."

However Ms Goddard, who lives with her disabled mum in a static home alongside her £170,000 house, in Wiltshire, says moving could be "life-threatening" for her mum.

She previously had a shipping container in the garden in Swindon. Locals say the house, and a second smaller caravan at the address, are believed to be rented out to numerous tenants.

Over the years neighbours have raged over the eyesore and called rowdy public meetings to debate what they could do about the situation.

They also took part in Channel 5 documentary The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door in April 2020.

Now Swindon Borough Council is taking legal action against Ms Goddard - which could lead to the removal of the static home.

When Ms Goddard first moved to the property in 2019, she claimed it was uninhabitable and extensive work needed to be carried out on the heating system and floorboards.

She moved into the static caravan in July 2020 and bought a shipping container to store building materials while repairs were underway.

Neither of the new additions had planning permission and the house itself is now thought to be in good condition.

Throughout this prolonged dispute, Ms Goddard has claimed she has been the victim of racial discrimination, bullying and abuse from the neighbours.

She says she has had a series of unexpected setbacks caused by circumstances which were beyond her control have delayed her attempts to sort out the mess.

After a previous enforcement order to remove the caravan was quashed, she hopes the courts will not approve the new injunction - for the sake of her mum.

She said: ''Why would the council wish to force a senior to become homeless or move into a house where climbing stairs could be life-threateningly dangerous for her?

“How will I be able to care for her in an emergency situation? She does not speak English. It is victimisation and cruel."

In an email from the council to local residents, an officer confirmed a hearing is due to take place later this month.

“We have now received confirmation from the court that a hearing will take place on February 15 2022", it read.

"The action we are taking is for an injunction against the owners for contraventions of the restrictive covenant relating to the property.

“We hope this will lead to the removal of the mobile home, but the decision will fall to the court.”

Speaking recently, one local resident, 77, said: '“I'm surprised nobody has taken into their own hands. It’s only a matter of time.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t been burnt down or something, people are very annoyed about it.

“A couple of people live in the caravan and a load more in the house. We’ll see people coming and going all the time, tenants change regularly.

“And from what I’ve heard from neighbours, I don’t think the council are really that intent on sorting the problem.

“Even the MP and councillors have been involved, but they don’t seem to have much to say about it. There’s even one counsellor that is supportive of her, but I’m not saying who.”

Another resident said: ''"It's a disgrace, she doesn’t care about anybody else in the street except for herself.

''I think she lives in cloud cuckoo land some days, it’s like she thinks the council will never actually do anything to deal with her.

''She moved into that caravan with her mum who is elderly, and I think disabled, ages ago.

''She said it was to do up the house, and loads of other excuses, but she’s lived in there ever since and there’s no sign of it disappearing.

“The place looks a mess from the outside, imagine what it looks like inside.

“I see people coming and going all the time, if we didn’t know about the history, we’d be quite concerned about what all these people are doing coming in and out.

“I do worry that if the council haven’t really gone to inspect it properly, what problems they could be.

“I just want it all sorted out, I want her to sort the garden out and remove the caravans. It’s been years, TV shows and everything, and yet she just doesn’t care.

''I wonder what it would actually take for her to listen and sort the problem out.

''I doubt this will ever get sorted, unless something really bad happens.”

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