Garden path leads neighbours to £100,000 court fight

A garden path just four feet wide has led two neighbours into a bitter £100,000 legal battle.

And the dispute now threatens to involve them in pouring more money down the drain.

Juliet Pleming claims she owns half of the concrete strip between the two houses. But her neighbours Peter and Alison Hampton insist they own it.

So far the dispute has sparked two court battles, racked up a massive bill for legal fees - and neither side has won.

Both claims have been thrown out on appeal, with judges at the High Court saying it was a "sad commentary on the state of the law" that the parties could not come to an agreement.

The neighbours are still not speaking over the dispute, which began in 2002 when Miss Pleming decided to build an extension to her £400,000 home in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

She need to build on a concrete strip leading to the Hamptons' oil tank in return for giving them a 2ft strip of her garden.

But the deal went sour and now the neighbours could be locked into a new battle - Miss Pleming needs permission from the Hamptons to install drainage to her extension.