Man destroys neighbour’s riverbank with digger so he can build a trench

A man has been accused of destroying his neighbour’s land and causing ‘damage to wildlife’ after causing damage to a riverbank.

Sam Bancroft dug a 90-metre trench into neighbour Andrea Marland’s land near the River Tonge in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Bancroft has claimed the work is to save his land from erosion, but went ahead with the work even after being warned by an environmental watchdog twice about not having flood risk activity permits, admitting he ‘couldn’t afford’ them.

He claimed that the work was essential to save his land from erosion. 

Marland, who has lived in her house for three decades, said he cut the 90-metre trench through her land so he had better access for his digger.

‘He’s not asked for permission or given a reason why he’s doing it,’ she said. ‘It seems he does what he wants and gets away with it.’

She added: ‘When you can’t get anywhere with anybody because nobody does what they’re supposed to do, you’re in tears, you’re shaking and angry.’

There are also worries that the habitat for local kingfishers has been affected by Bancroft’s digging.

Despite outrage from neighbours, Bancroft claims no one has been affected.

The Environment Agency said it will investigate reports of unauthorised work.

It could be worse – in 2019, a builder pleaded guilty to using a digger to damage a row of newly built retirement homes.

Daniel Neagu was charged with criminal damage after five houses belonging to McCarthy & Stone Retirement Living were ruined in Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

The homes were worth approximately £800,000 each and had their external walls torn out, leaving debris strewn across the gardens.

They were knocked down during a row over pay. Witnesses described seeing the man laughing and taking pictures as he damaged the £2.5million row of houses, telling police that he hadn’t been paid.

And a grieving widow said her next-door neighbour subjected her to a ‘campaign of hate’ over a shrine she built in front of her home in memory of her husband.

Church volunteer Margaret Ilkovics had placed shrubs, ornaments and a memory box under a pussy willow tree in a communal garden as a ‘shrine’ to her late spouse Richard, who died of cancer at 54.

But neighbour Anthony Kenyon claimed the tribute at Regina Court in Salford, Greater Manchester, was a health and safety hazard and uprooted the 3ft tree, a court was told.

He is also alleged to have purposefully killed plants by spraying them in weedkiller and damaged ornaments by dumping them in a wheelie bin while Margaret was away on holiday.

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