Couple 'can't live in £275,000 home' after neighbour cuts off their power supply - 'it's a nightmare!'

Kevin and Julia Sheppard purchased their property in Salisbury 15 years ago.

They poured £100,000 of savings into the home as they got to work on renovations.

This included removing the original building and replacing this with a modern, two bedroom home.

The Sheppards also upgraded the power supply with a submeter installed inside a flat they owned.

In 2022, they sold their flats to their neighbour who cut the power off "the day after the sale went through".

The neighbour owns the freehold of their land which gives him the right to do this, and the couple claimed their electricity company has refused to override the decision.

"It has taken over our lives for such a long time," Kevin claimed.

"We are being held to ransom due to his greed and it's really hurt us financially.

"We are stuck in a nightmare - we can't live in our house, no one else can either.

"[Our neighbour] simply refuses to budge and the electricity company won't reinstall a power supply unless he relents."

The couple alleged their neighbour has refused to let anyone install a connection so they can get power in the house.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Second home owners could see council tax double in UK following huge law change
• Death of bungalows: New homes drop 70 per cent in one year in latest blow for the elderly
• Neighbour row erupts as 'bully' council threatens to fine pensioner, 97, for feeding birds after complaint

The home was sold at auction last year for £277,000 but the sale fell through as a result of the electricity row.

"Every time we tried to sell the flats [the neighbour] would put a stop to it, we had been trying to sell for a few years and when they went to auction he got them for a lot less than they are worth," Kevin told Mail Online.

A spokesperson for Scottish and Southern Energy Networks told the publication: "Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has been aware of this situation since the residents concerned made contact with us several years ago with their request for a connection to our network.

"The property in question used to have access to a private electricity supply, and even before the arrangement which provided this came to an end, we have been open to facilitating a potential solution that's in the interests of all parties and that remains the case."