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Standoff between an elderly woman and bailiffs end in a win for the grandmother (3 August 2012)

Date: 03/08/2012
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Standoff between an elderly woman and bailiffs end in a win for the grandmother

The bailiffs of an American bank were stopped from repossessing a stately home by a grandmother which is owned by her son Grahame Bond.

Stella Bond 78, refused to budge from inside Halswell House, near Bridgwater, Somerset, when a Citi Private Banking sent its legal representatives to take possession of the £3m Grade I listed Tudor mansion. The Bank had proved it had the legal right to take possession.

She calmly occupied a magnificent wood paneled library and remained ensconced in her armchair for 72 hours before the American bank ordered the bailiffs to leave. The time allowed Mr Bond to negotiate with the banks.

Mr Bond had bought the mansion for £1.94m in 2004 and spent around £800,000 restoring it as an up market wedding venue. He had mortgages valued at more than four million pounds.

But the future of the 17-bedroom property was placed in doubt when his property firm ran into financial difficulties.

Mr Bond, 48, was not home so bailiffs were instead greeted by his elderly mother, who lives in a converted stable block on the estate. Over the next three days they became involved in a stand-off, in which the grandmother-of-four, in which the "intimidating" guards even blocked the bathroom entrance to force her out.

The mansion would have been locked if she ventured outdoors. Mrs Bond said that she was not shown any papers of right to possession or else she would have left the house the woman who suffers from osteoporosis said.

As they could not show her any paperwork indicating the right to take possession she told the bailiffs that they had no right to be there. She told it was very difficult but she had to do it. She stayed in the library for three days while the security remained in the hallway.

The former bookkeeper, who retired five years ago, added they had blocked the entrance to the bathroom, when she called the police. It was a traumatizing experience because she didn't know what they were doing.

Eventually I had a call and they said they said they were standing down so I told them I wanted them off the estate completely.

The divorcee's son, who also in dispute with the bank over a five-bedroom mansion in Chelsea, west London, which has been rented out to celebrities including David and Victoria Beckham, praised his mother's actions,

The business of marriage hall had ran into financial difficulties and insolvency specialists Moorfields had appointed Robert Rick and Simon Thomas as receivers with a view to sell the house.

Halswell House made headlines in 2009 when a black tie ball turned into a midnight orgy with partygoers having sex on the home's banisters and beneath the chandeliers. Mr Bond was forced to send his teenage staff home as the middle-class swingers stripped to corsets and suspenders for their explicit partying.

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