A ‘Millionaire’s Row’ resident who took his neighbour to court accusing her of blocking access to his orchard was ordered to pay £50k costs.

The judge accused him of taking a "blinkered, obsessive and unreasonable" approach.

In a dispute dating back to 2016, Guy Ker and partner Rue Swabey claimed their neighbour Catrin Weston had "persistently" blocked a track off Pound Hill, Charlbury, leading to the couple’s orchard.

The couple, who own a neighbouring property on Pound Hill, where this year the house price averaged £1.1m, alleged that Ms Weston had "placed bins" across the track, parked vehicles across it and "authorised contractors" to park skips, vans and cement mixers across the track.

But after hearing two days’ worth of evidence and legal submissions at Oxford County Court, yesterday Judge Melissa Clarke threw out all but one of the more than 60 allegations of "substantial interference" with Mr Ker and Ms Swabey’s right of way on the track.

And she refused to make an injunction in favour of the couple and preventing Ms Weston from "interfering" with the right of way, fearing it could be used "as a weapon".

Judge Clarke accused Mr Ker, who had been caught on camera "throwing" his neighbour's bins into a hedge, of "speechifying" in his evidence during the trial.

Some of his evidence, including his claim that his neighbour had orchestrated a "relentless campaign" to block their access to the orchard, was dismissed by the judge as bearing "no relation to reality".

If there was a relentless campaign, it was by Mr Ker and Ms Swabey’s "controlling of the track in an attempt to entirely control Ms Weston’s use of it".

Despite not owning the track to their orchard they had placed a gate across it. “Of course, it is not their track to control,” the judge added.

She accused the claimants of taking a "blinkered, obsessive and unreasonable" approach.

And noting that Mr Ker had continued to report the alleged "obstructions" to police as a way of 'logging' them - even after being told by police it was a civil matter - Judge Clarke said the man "did not seem to see any issues with wasting police resources".

Oxford Mail: Pound Hill, CharlburyPound Hill, Charlbury (Image: Google)

In a lengthy judgement, she detailed some of the allegations against Ms Weston.

In one, the consultant was said to have parked her car across the track – with pictures apparently showing Mr Ker’s orange vehicle trying to gain access to the orchard.

CCTV footage from Ms Weston’s property showed a "different reality", the judge said.

In it, she was seen unloading her shopping. Ms Swabey was said to have run to the house she shared with Mr Ker before, a few minutes later, the "orange car" appeared.

Judge Clarke said the couple had used the opportunity of Ms Weston unloading her shopping to "manufacture" evidence of the right of way being blocked.

Other incidents involved the lane being slightly obstructed by a "jutting" skip, which allegedly prevented a tree surgeon from doing work at the orchard in 2016 or a delivery being made the following year.

The only obstruction of the lane came when Ms Weston was said to have had an Autoglass worker repair her car. The obstruction was not deliberate, the court heard.

In papers filed with the court, lawyers for the defendant accused Mr Ker and Ms Swabey of a "campaign of harassment".

Judge Clarke noted she had seen videos of Mr Ker pushing Ms Weston’s bins into a neighbouring layby and hedge.

Cross-examined earlier this week, he denied the behaviour until the videos were shown to him.  

She ordered the claimants pay £50,000 towards Ms Weston’s legal fees, plus interest. They have 21 days to pay.

Oxford Mail: Guy Ker, photographed in 2014 when he spoke to the Oxford Mail about a mystery tyre slasherGuy Ker, photographed in 2014 when he spoke to the Oxford Mail about a mystery tyre slasher (Image: Oxford Mail)