A couple from Prestwich, Manchester have been forced to pay out £20,000 in damages after a former neighbour sustained injuries in a minor accident outside their home.
Brendan Hodgkiss and his partner Cynthia Parker were ordered to pay the damages at Salford County Court after Foroozan Panahandeh said she suffered injuries when some plastic guttering fell onto her from three feet as she was putting out her bins. She then took out a negligence claim against her neighbours claiming that she had sustained injuries to her neck, left shoulder and knee. The action was also against Salford City Council who had owned the property at the time of the incident, though the couple later bought it under the right to buy scheme.
However a civil action against the local authority was discontinued and the judge ordered that the couple pay the £20,000 of which only £3,000 is expected to go to Ms Panahandeh with the rest being taken up by legal fees. The couple offered to pay the money back at £50 a month but the woman’s solicitors have rejected this as they say it would take 34 years for the debt to be repaid.
The couple say they are still unsure how they will pay the amount owed and they may have to resort to selling their home.
