2006/7

The psychological toll is immense.   

We now face the prospect of added noise and disturbance on top of what we already are expected to cope with, as yet another shed goes up.  This will certainly impact upon our cottage visibly which will inevitably influence the saleability of our property, but will also affect us psychologically as the true purposes of these sheds are not for agricultural use at all, but for the haulage and it's ancillary operations. This will lead to more disturbance from this industrial business with the range of noisy activities impacting upon the enjoyment of our home.

Our civil case to have these gates removed drags on as does the intimidation whenever we drive out and drive back in. We desperately need to have the obstructions removed.  When that is done we will have only our gate to open which means we won't be subjected to any more abuse.  However the neighbours did everything in their power to obstruct the case from going to court as more excuses for delays kept coming.  It took three long and torturous years for the case to be heard.   

Neighbours called this 'our metal enclosure'.

Writing to councillors on the advice from the Welsh government was totally in vain.  The Leader Cllr Madge paid no heed to our dire situation and simply wrote back saying he'd pass my concerns onto the appropriate persons.   In other words he would inform the deceitful and dishonest E Bowen, the cause of our problems, that I was seeking help.   It is akin to an abused person/s (which is what we were) being told by someone who is there to assist - to prevent any further abuse from taking place, - to act upon evidence of wrongdoing - that he will inform your abuser of all you are accusing him of.  It is shocking conduct from a Leader of this council.    Councillors who pass the buck or turn a blind eye are not carrying out their civic duties to the public. 

As for the other councillors of which there are 74 - I had two other acknowledgements only but no further interest in our ordeal.  When councillors ignore the plight of a member of the public who is clearly suffering due to their officers misconduct they are wilfully turning a blind eye.  That is in my view irresponsible and ignoring their own Code of Conduct- the Nolan Principles and showing an indifference to all they originally stood for.

Councillors should be reminded from time to time of their responsibilities to the public they purport to serve.  The documentaries alone should have prompted a backlash from all of them.  There is no excuse.  

The obvious favours being given to our neighbours continued with ever more unauthorised and illegal quarrying and ever more rock being exported off-site.   The noise was unbearable. Again I informed E Bowen that quarrying and the exportation of the rock off-site was continuing.   Another site visit!!   Alarmingly I was told that there was no evidence of quarrying; of course not - it was all in my imagination! 

No evidence of quarrying

I clearly had to film - again.   I did not want, nor should I have had to film, to gain further proof  officers were lying and that I was telling the truth!  It is most shocking and deeply disturbing that I was alone in fighting what can only be described as a deep-seated culture of deception and duplicity within Carmarthen Council. (in plain language - corruption).  We were in shock and deeply distressed at what was being perpetrated upon us.   How on earth was I supposed to obtain truth and justice when I was left fighting alone against a council who were deeply entrenched in deceit and cover-up of all that was wrong.

As K Thomas (neighbour) was interfering with friends and visitors as they left, (trying to negotiate the gates on our Right of Way) by either filming them or entering the Right of Way to deliberately 'get in their way' it was obvious she intended to do this to any potential customers we would have for our intended cattery business.  We were witnessing our smallholding becoming unsaleable - our plans for the cattery was already in ruins - we were suffering financially and we were never going to be able to pay back the borrowings we had made which would ultimately mean losing our home.

My Victim Support lady who had visited me once at home wrote telling me she felt so intimidated by the neighbours filming her, with several of their lorry drivers watching on, we would have to meet somewhere else in the future.  Everybody who came here was in some way made to feel uncomfortable.  All that was taking place here including the abuse and intimidation of ourselves and visitors, the council were made aware of, and without doubt should have stepped in as it was they who had created this nightmare for us. 

My local farmer who was going to cut our fields had previously been threatened by K Thomas that he would suffer consequences if he did any work for us.     He very bravely refused to be intimidated by her and did cut our fields all the while K Thomas was filming him doing so.   During this period he had parked his Land Rover in the road opposite us which is a very quiet country road where not much traffic passes through.    Upon returning to his vehicle he found to his horror that two of his tyres had been cut.  He had to call a friend of his to take him back to his farm.    This was reported to the police but as always any evidence from obvious CCTV cameras was not viewed therefore there was zero evidence of who had so vengefully caused him fear and also money.   How much more obvious was it that our plans were in shreds.

K Thomas filming a local farmer who had just been cutting our fields

Even though our lives were in tatters I was determined to continue proving the corruption taking place, as I always lived in hope that one day, somebody, would put a stop to this vicious abuse of us from the council.  We managed to film lorries loaded with rock being transported off-site and being driven down towards Llandeilo.      E  Bowen continued his protection of all that was wrong and refused to acknowledge this evidence and took no action except to accuse me of making more unfounded allegations.

Through Freedom of Information I had found these disgusting slanderous and probably libellous accusations.   All in the name of discrediting and gagging me.  How desperate were officers including Mark James CEO to silence me, going to such extreme lengths; and is this normal behaviour from a CEO and Head of Planning of ones local authority?     These are just a few of the shocking accusations made and used against me..............I was accused of being ......

'psychotic - unstable - vicious - vindictive - sly - devious - a bully- a complete nutcase -  she has harassed and bullied people throughout her entire life - take everything she says with a pinch of salt -  she intimidates officers - she edits evidence- she doctors evidence - she makes unsubstantiated complaints - makes malicious complaints - she has a personal vendetta - she has psychiatric problems she has a twee idea of the countryside being about skylarks and primroses’ etc

The Ombudsman had this to say........"by refusing to accept the evidence they implied the complainants were dishonest"    

The Ombudsman referred to these disgusting comments in his report saying "the council took views about the complainants they had no right to take and made those views known to other agencies". 

August 2007


As I had written 12 letters from December 2004 - July 2005 to the council I was deemed to be a 'persistent complainer'.  This apparently warranted putting me on the Council's Persistent Complainers Policy (PCP)  As far as I understand it had never been used before.  It has to be justified and entails firstly writing to the complainant advising them of the policy and that they potentially could be put on it -  giving them one point of contact - advising them that nothing would be addressed unless 'fresh issues' arose - and regular reviews are supposed to be undertaken to monitor your correspondence.    In other words 'we are now going to ignore you and all that you have been advising us of '. 

Senior officers were desperate to silence and discredit me as I was very aware of all that was taking place and had a plethora of evidence to prove all I was complaining of.  Clearly the police and CPS hadn't achieved their objectives, therefore another strategy had to be found and this was to be their master plan!    However, the council failed to inform me that I was on this policy which is against regulations - they failed to address 'fresh issues' and failed to have regular reviews.   Not that it mattered to anyone except when I eventually took my complaints to the Ombudsman in 2012 the council were heavily criticised on all points. 

We were on this gagging order for three years whilst the industrial, quarrying and all other manner of unauthorised operations continued and we continued to be abused and threatened on a daily basis.  I was being silenced in order these industial operations could continue unimpeded.


Although my political representatives had all the evidence of unauthorised and illegal operations and were aware of the threatening behaviour of our neighbours towards us, had seen the TV documentaries, for some rason unbeknown to me, they were impotent in taking any action against the council.   My own local councillor throughout this exceedingly distressing  time was cowardly making every excuse for officers.  He behaved like a rabbit caught in headlights!    I was beginning to believe officers employed by local authorities were above the law!

Nobody cared that we were trapped in a hell not of our making and if this continued we were ultimately going to lose our home as well.

2007


More deceitful planning applications and another helping hand from the Head of Planning  E Bowen?

Just as before when someone influenced the Planning Inspector in order to obtain the first enormous shed for my neighbours, (no doubts who that would have been)  the Head of Planning simply ignored the Planning committee's decision to refuse planning for another shed of the same size and told the neighbours to build it anyway.  No worries for them putting in an appeal to the Inspectorate, that's for others who are not 'friends' of the council, they might just not uphold another appeal.  This shed has no planning permission, but no concerns for Head of Planning as it only affects us - it only imposes upon us - it only affects the value of our property. What can I do about it?  Tell my M. P. my A. M. my councillor?   I did!  

This shed when built, was used for all manner of unauthorised activities of course, as there was zero agriculture at Blaenpant only industrial activities and that is precisely what this shed was built for and used for.  Upon informing E Bowen that this shed was not used for agriculture only noisy industrial activities, I was informed he'd carried out a site visit and that I was making 'unfounded accusations'. 

In between times, the neighbours had already erected another substantial building (stable for the stallion) alongside their dutch barn, (without planning) again ignored by E Bowen, and were putting in yet another application to build on its thumbprint. (replacement building).   Of course, as the substantial stable was now included in the overall size it meant this building could be much larger than it's original size!  I pointed out to the council that yet another building had been erected without planning (stable)  I was informed "it is not another building it is just an extension"?  Amazingly when the plans were drawn up, they clearly indicated the extra building as a 'stable' not just an extension.

E Bowen knew this land opposite us was a Special Area of Conservation, was being raised enormously with tonnes of concrete being poured onto it, knowing precisely how high these sheds would ultimately be and were obviously going to tower over us. 

These three imposing monsters are within 50 meters of our cottage and built on a SSSI/SAC area.

There have been at least eighteen planning applications from this so-called farm and all under the guise of agriculture where there were only industrial and equine businesses operating.

I've learned so much about Carmarthen Council's planning and enforcement department over these years, and it's shocking conduct by officers who are paid to uphold planning regulations, abide by the law, their codes of conduct and indeed the Nolan Principles;  how they abuse the system for some, and destroy those who attempt to defend their own investment, their quality of life, in exposing the obvious flaws in planning. 

These three sheds were all built under agricultural justifications.    First shed - used for stabling of the many horses being bred and sold plus other activities not associated with any form of agriculture.   The second shed used for the haulage businesss many HGVs and cutting of scrap  The third shed houses a pit, and used for maintenance on HGVs, other vehicles and also used for welding. 
 

As I was accused so many times of making 'unfounded and malicious accusations' I filmed the activities in order to prove I was not malicious nor was I making unfounded accusations.   I was simply trying to protect our quality of life, our financial investment, and our plans for our future.  

When the Ombudsman interviewed twelve officers following my complaints to him in 2012, unsurprisingly not one could could provide any evidence of their accusations that I was being 'malicious'.  These accusations came from Brian Canning (Enforcement Manager) E Bowen (Head of Planning) and the CEO Mark James.   The Ombudsman went on to say that all of their 'malicious' accusations against me were passed onto every other agency who became involved in this case. 

Carmarthen council have a lot of explaining to do.

June 2006     Shouting through glass - the police and another 'Wales This Week' documentary.



Following the airing of the second documentary, the Thomases showed their fury.  Eddie left for work to the sounds of clapping and name calling.  When he reached the top gate he was met by our neighbour who was sitting in his vehicle staring menacingly whilst Eddie negotiated exiting onto the main road.  This had become our life, and as traumatic as it was, it was expected.  The local police clearly had taken a side and it was not ours.  Their attitude towards us was so similar to that of Carmarthen council, they could have been one and the same organisation.  Our life was hell.  We had nowhere to turn.  

We had lost all chance of having the two small businesses we had planned, and no chance of selling.  We were trapped with all control over our lives ruled by Carmarthen council, the neighbours, the police, and the CPS.  The funds we had set aside for the businesses were being swallowed up with legal bills.

The officer who was visiting us regularly from Dyfed Powys Professional Standards Police had watched the documentary at his brother in laws house.  He was appalled, as was his sister who voiced her opinion that the Thomases were trying to steal our home.  His wife was equally shocked and said no one is lifting a finger to help.  Opinions came flooding in, in support of us, but the very authorities who should have been showing support were silent. As both documentaries proved a haulage business was operating and that we were being victimised because we had voiced our deep concerns,  it was abundantly clear that Carmarthen Council were going to continue ignoring the proof both programmes had produced.  I was up against cover-up, at the highest level, but had no escape as we didn't even have the option of selling.

With more clear evidence of corruption, I believed that someone somewhere would put a stop to our nightmare and insist on an investigation into the growing scandal that was 'Blaenpant'.  Surely Ministers, who had been informed by my A.M. would ask questions of CCC.   It didn't happen.  Being the second documentary, plus the publicity these two programmes had generated, within the media overall, something was seriously wrong with the system in Wales when nobody in power asks one question following such exposure.   How could those in positions of power stay silent?  The team at Wales This Week were in total support of us as they were shocked at the silence from those who were very aware of the injustice we were suffering, and of course, had seen our evidence first hand.  It seemed to be the case that our neighbours were being supported by CCC who were being supported by the police who were being supported by the CPS!  We didn't have any support at all, we were left defenceless and on our own.

The intimidation showed no signs of abating, in fact, it became worse.  It was summer time and our fields needed cutting and we had asked our local farmer to come again.   He was obstructed from entering our driveway and told by Karen Thomas NOT to cut our fields - or else.   Even this didn't prompt a reaction from our local police.  There appeared to be no line over which the neighbours could not tread.  There were no boundaries for the Thomases.  They appeared to be exempt from all planning regulations and the law.  We felt like pawns.

Mr Dai Thomas from Police complaints was very concerned at the lack of support from the local police and regularly took statements from us about the way in which the police were behaving towards us.  Each time he visited I would always ask for his opinion.  I desperately needed to understand why we didn't have any support and why the Thomases were treated differently to us by all agencies.  I would always ask him to be absolutely honest with me and to tell me if I was wrong in my assumptions.   Without hesitation, he would say that I was not wrong, we were being treated differently, and that when he finished his report it would be damning to the police.

One could argue that some of the daily incidents could be classed as petty.   However, when such incidents/taunts take place every single day, and sometimes several times a day, over an eighteenth month period, they cease to become petty.  They affect every aspect of your own mental well being from the moment you wake as the awareness that something will happen that day takes over and puts you immediately in an anxious state of mind.   The overall effect of daily intimidation has a huge impact on your mental well being, where each day becomes a struggle through and through.   The cumulative effect of the intimidation took a huge toll on us both physically and mentally. We worried about our future, as we had no control over it now.

7th. October 06.      Karen Thomas and I had an altercation at the lower gate.  I wanted it open to go out and she wanted it closed so that I could not.  She had also put a number of ponies into the right of way to prevent me from leaving.    During this altercation, she accused me again, of assault.  Two police officers did attend this time, and I had the opportunity of showing them my own CCTV footage which proved no such assault took place.  PC Treherne viewed the footage and agreed there was no assault, and I recorded him admitting such. So that was that - or so I thought.  

20th. November 06    Another nasty incident occurred in Carmarthen whilst Eddie was working, which ended in AT assaulting two females who had become involved in the threatening behaviour of our neighbour.  He was arrested and charged with assault - and later found guilty.  He did appeal but unfortunately for him, the witness who was primed to conjure up a story for his appeal,  hadn't done his homework thoroughly, made several serious errors whilst telling his story to the Judge, and was found to be lying to the court.  The Judge said "people have come into court today to try and pull the wool over the court's eyes"   The Judge then doubled my neighbour's previous penalty.   

Speaks for itself

27th. November 06      My fifth arrest....I was told to attend Carmarthen Police Station to be interviewed under caution, where I was arrested for the fifth time on Karen Thomas's allegation of assault, (7th October) even though the arresting police officer had previously conceded that having seen the CCTV footage no assault took place.  I took with me the DVD evidence and asked that both police officers view the footage on my portable disc player, which would prove I should not have been arrested nor should I be in this interview.  They refused to view it.   I was placed on bail - again - for months.   Eventually told the CPS were not going to prosecute.  

26th. March 07  Cockerels began to appear under our bedroom window now that the pigs had gone.


The neighbours continued with their intimidation and the police continued to turn a blind eye to their threatening behaviour towards us. One such incident was the keeping of our very old little Beddie dog.  Karen Thomas had spotted her at the top of her drive and decided to keep her. Of course, we didn't know this, we thought she had gone missing. We were beside ourselves.  Eventually, she let her go but only after one very sleepless night.  Other incidents included cockerels appearing under our bedroom window, floodlights directed at our bedroom and so on...Other incidents included more tailgating, attempts to run us off the road, slurry deposited at our gate,  horse dung and mud smeared over gate handles, the list is shocking.

What had Carmarthen council unleashed upon us? It makes it all the more shocking that on the council's files there were reports of violence and intimidation towards others who had lived here before us.  The council had no excuse for not protecting us from this vile conduct of our neighbours. Of course, they were very aware why it was happening  (due to their corrupt practices) so it was either admit corruption or keep it covered up at our expense.  Every day was stressful and we were deeply unhappy/depressed.

2nd. May 07  My sixth arrest................It was a beautiful day and I was planning to go out.  I opened the gates in preparation as I always did.  The Thomases top gate was closed as usual, so I would still have to have stopped to negotiate that one.  I began walking away from the gates to collect my car when I heard a huge crash and kerfuffle.  I turned around and saw that Andrew Thomas had thrown open the top gate and had literally dragged a pony into the right of way.  As he did this he let go of the halter rope, shouted whilst waving his hands at the back of the pony and sent it running down towards me.  I was so shocked I couldn't gather my thoughts.  This is all played out on my own CCTV and camcorder footage.  The now very frightened pony tried to go back towards  Karen Thomas, who was also now in the right of way with her stable hand, but Andrew Thomas had other ideas and he shouted again at the pony whilst whipping its back-end forcing the poor thing onto my garden. The pony was very distressed and running all over my garden trying to get back up to the right of way area.   I wanted to get back to the cottage to ring the police but before I had reached my door Karen Thomas along with the other girl had marched down onto my garden area.  I believed Karen Thomas was going to push me as she was standing within inches of my face in a very threatening manner. 


I put out my hand telling her 'not to come into my space', to which she replied 'you've just assaulted me'.  and then rang the police on her mobile phone.  Once I'd gone inside, I pushed my police panic button and rang them too.  I believed the neighbours had gone too far and the police would support me in this, as this had been a very frightening scenario, and I could have been seriously hurt.    As the police had visited the Thomases first I fully expected they would have viewed their CCTV to confirm what had actually taken place.  When the police arrived at my door instead of supporting me, I was arrested - again, for assault, put in handcuffs and driven away.   As we reached the top of the right of way Karen Thomas and her stablehand were watching the police car drive me away and were laughing.   I was placed in a cell - again, this time for eight hours.  The police served another section 18, to search my home - again.  For what?  They took away our CCTV recording box. When Eddie had arrived home he noticed my camcorder in the kitchen and when he had looked at it and seen my ordeal, he took it immediately to my solicitor.  When my solicitor told me they had handed over the camcorder footage to the police, I believed I would be de-arrested and released.   Will they now arrest the Thomases?  Of course not.  I was put on bail - again, for months.  Having spent more months in an anxious state of mind the CPS decided not to prosecute. 

Shockingly, the Thomases were never arrested for what they did that day even though the filmed evidence was inarguable.

The CCTV evidence and my camcorder evidence proved the Thomases to be deliberately driving a pony at me, on my own property, and behaving in a very threatening manner.  It is shocking behaviour by police officers to have deliberately ignored evidence and not arrested both Thomases for endangering my life. This can be seen on one of the television documentaries.  I would find it hard to believe if this was happening to someone else!  This unjust treatment of me was a witchhunt and was designed to discredit me and break me down.   This type of smear has been used from time immemorial when certain people have knowledge that could harm those in positions of authority..

With the amount of clear actual evidence from witnesses, CCTV and camcorder footage, it is staggering that the Thomases were never arrested for the shocking things they did to us over this period of time. 

Sixth arrest

August 07    Another planning application for yet another (agricultural) shed. The reasons for this shed were identical to those given for the first shed......'storage of hay and agricultural implements'. 

I had opposed this application stating that as Blaenpant had already been given approval (on appeal) for a shed in which to store hay and agricultural implements, why the need for another shed. 

However, just like the first shed - it was refused by the planning committee due to very little agriculture.  We were justified in feeling absolutely relieved that yet again the planning committee had refused this application on the grounds of very little agriculture.

The first shed which was being used in an unauthorised manner (horse stabling) had already devalued our property due to its size and situation.  It was very worrying, therefore, that another shed of a similar size was going to impact upon our property even further if approved.  Two different estate agents had publicly stated that due to the sheds and the neighbour's record of intimidation upon whoever lived here, devalued our property by a third.   This was prior to another gigantic shed being approved. 

25th. November 07      It was a very cold night and suddenly our heating stopped working.  As it was oil fed and we had recently had an oil delivery, it was a cause for concern.  Eddie went to check the oil tank.  It had been vandalised.  There was a small piece of wood caught in between the pipe and the outlet suggesting that a long piece of wood had been used, hit with something like a sledgehammer, and a piece had broken off.  There was no oil left in the tank, it had all drained away.  I wonder who could have been responsible?   Obviously the police were called, but of course, there was no evidence to suggest who had criminally damaged our oil tank. Whoever had done this had caused £1.800 worth of damage.  We were without heating for weeks until the insurance claim went through and we had a new tank. 

Broken and twisted pipe showing a piece of wood broken off from whatever was used to break the pipe.

As Andrew Thomas had previously torn my camcorder away from me and stamped it into the ground, with no consequence, ( even though this could be also be observed on CCTV, albeit not clearly,) he would have presumed he didn't have to fear the law.  He had criminally damaged our gate (on CCTV) with zero consequence.  The police let us down of that there is no doubt.  


Our problems continued with haulage operations continuing - weekends spent listening to welding - power hosing of HGVs - maintenance continued and as did the unauthorised quarrying.  I for my part desperately tried to get some form of monitoring carried out from the council, especially as the haulage operations had been proven, not just by myself with filmed evidence, but also from the Vehicle Operator Services Agency who did monitor and confirmed that lorries were being operated from Blaenpant.  I'd also sent the council Karen Thomases admission in court that she was using Blaenpant as a haulage yard and our representative from country Landowners had also informed the council that she had witnessed a haulage yard as well as confirming that they were definitely not operating from their official address.   Letters together with more evidence were regularly sent, but I was shouting through glass. It couldn't have been more obvious that Carmarthen Council had given the Thomases carte blanche to carry on regardless of planning regulations. It stands to reason that as Carmarthen council were embroiled in shady deals with Blaenpant, they had to lie to anyone who questioned the activities taking place there.

With our civil case still ongoing against the neighbours to have our right of way unobstructed, life for us was exceedingly pressurised and stressful, watching ever more of our funds being dwindled away, and our own lives out of our control.

December 2007    It was abundantly clear that once more the planning committee's decision was irrelevant as on both occasions it was ignored. They had rightly refused this second shed in the same way as they had refused the first shed.  But......there is always someone waiting in the wings to pull the strings for the Thomases to make sure they have what they want.

In stepped the Head of Planning, Eifion Bowen and just as before with the Planning Inspector, he made sure that the Thomases would have all they wanted.  He simply overruled the planning committee's decision and gave the go-ahead for the second enormous shed.  Just ticked it off!!!!! 

Threats - blackmail -three more arrests and my BIG RED BOOK!

My big red book!

February 2006

Telephone calls from my solicitor advising me to drop my appeal - CPS solicitor wanting to 'horse trade' - something was very wrong.

The solicitor prosecuting was threatening to bring further charges against me if I appealed his win over me.  These were going to be charges of harassment.  I knew I wasn't guilty of any such offence, as I had never at any time instigated any form of confrontation, and harassment being a course of conduct, there would have to have been numerous incidents which I was guilty of.  I was completely comfortable in my belief that his threats were just that, empty threats, but why?   I also had a detailed log of every incident that had taken place.   In my view, this was most unprofessional behaviour and a very alarming turn of events.   For some reason, he didn't want me appealing against his victory.  To make these threats it would be natural to most people to presume he did have evidence and had received a file from the police on which to prosecute. I knew this couldn't possibly be correct.  I knew he did not have any genuine/truthful evidence against me - I knew!   As the police had not issued any warning against me nor had they mentioned any such accusations on their many visits to us, it reinforced my opinion that the threat was just a way of attempting to stop me from proceeding with an appeal.   I decided to put his threat to the test, and force him into producing evidence - if he had any.   I contacted Dyfed Powys Police and asked for the incidents my neighbours had been supposedly reporting to them. I wrote three letters but with no response.  After three weeks I telephoned them. 

Procedure....... Each and every time we reported incidents to the police, without fail they would contact the Thomases to explain the nature of the complaint and they were then given the opportunity to deny the accusation.  We would then be told that our accusation had been countered and no further action would be taken as it was 'our word against theirs'.  We were told that this was the procedure the police were bound to follow. 

Given this practice by the police, it would be perfectly reasonable to presume that these same procedures would be followed regarding any complaints/allegations made by the Thomases against us, and we too would be afforded a visit from the police, notified of any allegation made, and would have the same opportunity of either admitting, explaining or denying, any such allegation. This never happened.  At no time throughout our ordeal were we informed of any accusation against us. We were being treated differently by the police, it was obvious.  The other view would be that no allegations were being made against us, and therefore the police would have no reason to pay us a visit.    If this was the case it begs the question as to why the CPS solicitor so heavily involved in my case was threatening to bring charges of harassment at all?


On the 1st March, I received a phone call from an Inspector saying they would be visiting that day to show us the list of claims. This was going to be very enlightening in more ways than one.  It was!  I recorded this meeting and it can be viewed on one of the documentaries made by ITV. It was astounding.

They produced, on a plain sheet of A4 seven dated incidents, which shockingly were the very incidents that we had logged with the police.  Not only were they our own accusations of threatening behaviour from the Thomases, but we had also produced filmed evidence to support our ordeal.  This evidence proved beyond doubt that we were being bullied and intimidated on a daily basis by the Thomases.  This intimated some kind of collusion.  It was plain. Being that this list consisted of the very allegations of intimidation and threats we had advised the police of, accompanied with our filmed evidence, it also begged the question - why weren't the Thomases being prosecuted? 

Shockingly - exceedingly important details depicted on the filmed footage had been totally ignored in favour of what I can only describe as warped, seriously flawed and dishonest accusations. I was totally confident that this evidence would be ridiculed by a judge if it ultimately ended up in Crown Court.    My reservations were, that due to being found guilty of assault on evidence that should have been thrown out of court previously, I had lost all faith in Magistrates.  The Magistrates could find me guilty against the evidence, and I would be forced yet again to go to appeal which I would be prepared to do on this travesty. It was going to be even further pressure and stress, with no end in sight. However, it would ultimately play into my hands as Crown Court is far removed from the shenanigans that can take place in the Magistrates Courts. The sleepless nights that followed were twofold. Obviously, the mental turmoil of having to defend myself again, in court, with more visits to solicitors, but more than that - what and who was behind this?.  Was I a threat to someone or someones as it was certainly feeling very much like a witchhunt?

17th. March - just over two weeks after being given the infamous list of erroneous allegations - two officers arrived, I was arrested and taken to the police station.  I was put in a cell for five hours, interviewed and then charged with harassment against the evidence we had previously produced.

I was now facing the prospect of having to defend myself again, in two separate court cases - one in Crown Court for my appeal against the assault charge and another in Magistrates, again, for the charge of harassment, which in my view could be construed as so seriously flawed it could possibly amount to 'perverting the course of justice' by a CPS solicitor.   I was placed on bail. Carmarthen Council has a lot to answer.  If they had carried out correct planning procedures none of this would be happening to me.  Nor would the two previous owners of our property gone through the ordeal of threats and intimidation from the Thomases either. 

A few weeks later, through Freedom of Information, I found a very interesting letter directly related to the threats made to me by the CPS solicitor in court. Karen Thomas had written to the Traffic Commissioner and in her letter advised the Commissioner that the CPS was going to bring charges of harassment against me.  The reason this is interesting is that this letter was dated TWO MONTHS before the threats were even made which shows that there was some unethical familiarity between the CPS, the police and the Thomases. Not only that, NO incidents of any kind had been recorded with the police by the Thomases - against us.  My question, therefore, is this....with no incidents logged by the Thomases, a plethora of incidents logged by us with filmed evidence, what on earth were the CPS relying upon to charge me with harassment!  What's more, if the CPS had evidence against me and were confident that these charges would be upheld, why would they pressure me to drop my appeal in favour of dropping charges against me.  It does not make any sense at all and gave me and my solicitor great cause for concern.

On the 20th. April I was arrested for the 3rd time.  This time it was for breach of bail.  I had apparently opened the boarded over gate five times over a two week period - unnecessarily - according to the Thomases complaint. I was again placed in a cell - this time for thirteen hours, before being charged.   During my time in custody, I was advised the police were serving a section 18 which meant they were going to search my home.  For what I asked myself.   I've never felt so frightened and vulnerable in all my life.  This had turned into a nightmare. What on earth was happening to me?  My son and Eddie were at the police station not knowing what to do.  I made the one phone call allowed to me.  I rang a close friend and told her that the police were going to take things from my home and I asked her if she could ring Eddie and tell him to safeguard all my filmed evidence as this was going to be vital to my defence.  I had such mistrust of the police and CPS and was reliant on my filmed evidence to prove the charges of harassment to be false.  I was now facing three different charges and three separate court cases. 

As soon as I put the phone down I was arrested again.  This would be my 4th arrest for 'attempting to pervert the course of justice'.  I was stunned.  I can't put into words my feelings of utter despair , helplessness and hopelessness. My life had fallen apart.  Could I cope with all that happening to us?  We were not young people and had never been involved with police - CPS - Courts - dishonest councils - ever!  I blamed Carmarthen council for everything that was happening to me.  How could they not be to blame?  Due to planning corruption, and the deceit I was being faced with, our property was totally unsaleable and our businesses were never going to materialise. They had taken over our lives and it was spiralling out of control.  We had no control at all over our lives - Carmarthen Council - the police  - the CPS and theThomasess were in total control of us!

21st. April I was to appear in Carmarthen Magistrates court for the charge of breach of bail.   I hadn't slept all night and felt weak and nauseous as soon as I began getting ready to attend my court hearing. These feelings grew worse and worse, and I knew I couldn't attend court.  I was in a very bad place.  Eddie rang my solicitor, who told him to ring my GP.  My GP wrote out a note to the court which was delivered to my solicitor to present to the Magistrates.  The Magistrates set another date, but the CPS solicitor wasn't at all happy.  He told the Magistrates that I was 'faking it'.  He was very angry at my non-attendance and was demanding that the Magistrates issue an order for my arrest and have me remanded in custody.   In other words to be put in prison whilst awaiting the next court date.  Thank goodness the Magistrates showed common sense and didn't issue a warrant for my arrest, and set a new date for the 26th. April.

In the interim period, I had written to the head of the CPS as had my solicitor asking very probing and pertinent questions as to the evidence they were attempting to rely upon etc. 

26th. April  My plea hearing...  Woke up feeling very nervous.  A group of friends met us at the court, and the friendly usher found a room for all of us which was which was great. My solicitor advised me that the CPS solicitor who had threatened, blackmailed and wanted me to be put on remand, was not in court, he had been replaced.  I believe that to was due to pressure from my solicitor and possibly the Head of the CPS.   My solicitor said the atmosphere in court was 'good today' - 'laid back and quite different'. The charge of 'breach of bail' (opening the gate) had been dropped and been replaced with another charge of harassment, this time for 'banging the gate'  Not 'opening the gate' but now 'banging the gate'.  My solicitor said you will plead not guilty - you will be given bail, but this time - sensible bail conditions, unlike before, which compromised my living at my own address!  Another date was set for the 12th. May for my case to be tried.   Between these dates, there were many visits to my Bristol based solicitors and several more letters sent to the Head of the CPS. 

12th. May  The morning of the court case against me I received a phone call from my solicitor's secretary saying that I didn't need to attend court as the Head of the CPS had rung to say the harassment charges had been dropped. What a relief.  My solicitor had worked his magic and shown them they had a fight on their hands if they proceeded with this nonsense.   In a way, I wasn't surprised as the Head of the CPS had become heavily involved, and if he'd taken it upon himself to look at the evidence against me he would have quickly realised there was no case. The breach of bail charge had not so far been dropped, (banging the gate) but in view of my own evidence, I felt perfectly confident it would be.  I was now facing only two court cases.  Crown Court for my appeal and the so-called breach of bail.


19th. May  I went into hospital for an operation, and before I had even gone down to theatre I was given the news that the breach of bail case had also been dropped.  Two down one to go.  I now only had one case pending that of my appeal which was scheduled for the 13th July at Swansea Crown Court.

29th. June  I received a phone call from my solicitor cancelling our prearranged meeting as the Head of the CPS had rung him to advise that the CPS were not going to defend their case against me and it was to be quashed. 

What an ordeal and it was now over - or was it???      Little did I know that I would be arrested twice more! 

Log of every single incident that took place.

We were in the way..................

Police and harassment warning .......... We had been advised by our solicitors to log each and every incident of harassment, as by doing so it would form a larger picture of what was actually taking place, as harassment is a course of conduct.    Our smallholding is quite isolated with no-one to witness what was taking place, so I decided to keep diaries as well as a log of all incidents.  I recorded the date we reported incidents to the police, which officers visited, when they visited, what was said and the outcomes. It became a regular feature in my life as there were incidents almost each and every day from name calling, filming us on our way in and out, friends being intimidated when visiting, deliberately jamming the gates making it impossible to come in, common assaults, criminal damage to our property, and so on....

Given that the Thomases had already abused and threatened two families before us, due to them making complaints about the unauthorised industrial activities, and forced them out due to threats, and were now repeating this same behaviour towards us, it was pretty shocking and deeply troubling that the local police appeared to be taking a side - that of our neighbours, in much the same way as Carmarthen council officers.

The police keep records of all incidents logged with them and these are called 'storm reports'.  At the time of my first formal warning for harassment of my neighbours in March 2005 - we had logged twelve incidents including the Thomases following Eddie to work - taking his picture and being abusive to him.  When the police visited us the evening of the day the Thomases had followed Eddie to work, I thought they were going to inform us that they had warned the Thomases to leave us alone.   That didn't happen - instead, unbelievably, I was warned under the Harassment Act.  It came as a bolt out of the blue, and very frightening, as I knew instinctively that for the police to warn me for harassment was very wrong as not only had we logged several incidents of daily harassment - the neighbours had not logged one!  They hadn't logged any incidents simply because we had not participated in any behaviour that would have warranted any form of allegation to the police.  So why was I being warned under the harassment act and for what?.  I asked the officer what was I being warned for.  He mumbled something about 'filming.'  He clearly didn't have a clue what he was warning me for.  He had just been told to do it!! I later found out that the filming he had referred to was the filming I had carried for the council of the numbers of HGVs being run in and out of Blaenpant proving that a haulage business was indeed operating.

The countless incidents of horrendous intimidation we had suffered were ignored by the police, much in the same way as the countless complaints from many locals and ourselves regarding the Thomases unauthorised activities, were ignored by Carmarthen Council.  They were acting against us in identical fashion.

My prosecution for the assault which took place in July 2005, was to be heard in February 2006.

The disruption to our quality of life continued with another planning application in 2005 for conversion of a cowshed into the 'farm office'.  The portacabin which had acted as the haulage business's office obviously wasn't suitable any longer as the haulage business was expanding. The incessant noise from quarrying which so was debilitating continued with rock constantly being loaded onto lorries and taken off - probably to be sold - or given away???   This was to make way for more sheds and to create space for the haulage lorries and related activities.  Our life here was untenable.

Second harassment warning.....

Prior to my court appearance, I was given a second warning under the harassment act.  I had objected to the council over the unauthorised removal of asbestos from the neighbouring building and was told to provide evidence.  I took a photograph to show to the Environment Agency and for my trouble came this second warning for harassment. How could this be when I had been asked for this evidence?

Again - it is odd the police should warn me again, as the neighbours had not logged one official complaint, they had simply told a local police officer I had taken a picture of the removal of asbestos.   Harassment is a course of conduct - not one incident simply mentioned to a police officer.  This was feeling like a witchhunt and was most convenient for the local CPS because as I was now being subjected to pretrial court appearances (three of them) the local CPS could now rely on the two warnings for harassment to thoroughly discredit me.  This didn't bode well for me. I was acutely aware there was something terribly sinister in what was taking place.  A local journalist who had been following my case voiced his own personal concerns to me that something was very wrong here!

The harassment and intimidation towards us and now our friends continued without intervention from the police. Friends were now being filmed by Karen Thomas when visiting - Eddie had been assaulted by Andrew Thomas in the right of way (on CCTV) reported to the police - my support lady from Victim Support was also filmed and menacingly stared at when visiting me and had written a letter saying she felt too intimidated to visit me anymore at home  - reported to the police - Andrew Thomas had tried to run us off the road in one of his HGVs - reported to the police - Andrew Thomas had paid a visit to Eddie's place of work demanding information on him and been abusive to one of the company's employees - Karen Thomas had rung Eddie's office and was abusive to staff - all reported to the police.  The Thomases would sing 'Two little boys had two little toys' ' every time Eddie left home and every evening arriving home (he looks a little like Rolf Harris) We were whistled at - clapped at - sworn at - still no intervention by the police and still no incidents logged by the neighbours against us.  By the time of the court hearing on February 06, the neighbours had not logged any incidents against us.  By comparison, we had now logged too many to mention.

There was something very wrong with how the police were behaving towards us.  Their conduct was so similar to that of Carmarthen Council's one could be forgiven for believing they were one and the same organisation.  The constant blaming of us - the constant denials the Thomases were at fault in any way.  No action was taken against them for criminal activities by the police nor breaches of planning regulations by the council.    We were in the way!!

7th. February 2006   Court Hearing...................

The evidence from the Thomases was totally contradictory with many discrepancies.  It was surprising that the case brought, but I knew why this was happening.  I believed the whole case was about discrediting me on behalf of the council.  I knew too much and was making waves that were uncomfortable. I knew I was going to be found guilty after all this was the plan. I was prepared for that outcome.  I immediately asked my solicitor to lodge an appeal...............

My solicitor was called over by the CPS solicitor who was prosecuting and informed him to advise me that if I appealed he would bring further charges against me. I was stunned.  I knew he had no evidence to bring any further charges against me as no allegations had been made to the police. I asked what charges he would be bringing. 

Charges of harassment were going to be next!  This was very interesting as again official reports to the police had to be registered and acknowledged as a course of conduct to enable any charges to be brought against someone.  This wasn't the case here as no accusations had been made - at all!   I advised my solicitor I wouldn't be blackmailed by a CPS solicitor into accepting the charge of assault and I wished for him to continue with my appeal.  I received a phone call that same evening from my solicitor advising me to drop my appeal. I was shocked that my solicitor was accepting of this form of blackmail.  I advised him that I found this to be extraordinary and I most certainly wished for him to take my instructions and continue with my appeal.   Lo and behold I received a letter from my solicitor two days later, again, advising me to 'horsetrade'. 'Drop my appeal and the CPS will not pursue me for harassment'.

Well well....something is terribly amiss.  I will appeal and the CPS will just have to bring those charges of harassment against me, won't they!

Trapped....no chance of being able to sell

Trapped..........................no chance of being able to sell

SSSI/SAC - The adjacent property when we moved here.

October 2005.......We were living adjacent to an unauthorised haulage yard - an unauthorised equine business - an unauthorised shed which towers over our small cottage - pigs situated under our bedroom window - a board blocking our window (E. Bowen named it our neighbours privacy board) - a very large blue removal lorry parked across our windows - more scrap vehicles next to our gate - a drainage pipe directing rainwater onto our garden area - two boarded over gates blocking our right of way - the welsh flag hanging over it - and now a floodlight (on all night) directed straight into our bedroom window illuminating it with a horrid orange glow.  As well as this we were being bullied and intimidated on a daily basis.

Floodlight directed at our bedroom window.

 It would be serious enough if we had been the first to complain to Carmarthen Council about the disturbances from these industrial businesses, but we weren't.  This Council - E. Bowen - Brian Canning - and many others, including the Chief Executive Mark James,  all knew that others had complained about the disturbances, and had been driven out.  They knew exactly what was to befall us, when we too were to complain to them.  

The big question was always - why was this authorities Head of Planning/Enforcement allowing these people to run businesses without any planning consents and changes of use.   I would call this corrupt practice and it was affecting every day of our lives affecting our quality of life and the value of our home. 

Code of Conduct...
  
13.0   Corruption

13.1   Employees must be aware that it is a serious criminal offence for them corruptly to receive or give any gift, loan, fee, reward or advantage for doing, or not doing anything or showing favour, or disfavour, to any person in their official capacity.  Allegations of this nature will be investigated/dealt with in accordance with the council's disciplinary procedure.

'Favour'  As Carmarthen Council's Head of Planning/Enforcement was allowing certain individuals to run businesses without planning consents and changes of use, plus turning a blind eye to payment of business rates - this would be deemed giving 'favour'.  He was also allowing an industrial unit to retain 'agricultural rights' which allowed further unauthorised activities to flourish when applying for further sheds - quarrying etc. etc. etc. These applications and activities would not have been given consents under 'equine use' and as for the 'industrial use' - that would have been refused by the planning committee and would not have been taking place at all.


November 2005........Where are the horses??

The horses that had been living on the adjacent land to ours were gone.   I was soon to find out where they were, and the true purpose for the gigantic shed that now loomed over us.   The planning application for this shed was for 'storage of agricultural implements hay and tractor store'.  Why was the tractor always parked on their front yard, and as they didn't keep hay, the application for this shed clearly wasn't the true reason for needing it.  This shed was a giant stable for the quine business.  This is where the horses were kept for the winter months.   In planning terms, this is 'unauthorised use' as there was no application for the keeping of equines in the shed, and there should have been.

There are many other horsey people who run livery yards and who breed and sell horses who would have given their right arm to be given the favours bestowed upon these hauliers and horse breeders by Carmarthen Council's Head of Planning E. Bowen; as they had been allowed to avoid planning permissions - changes of use - allowed to keep agricultural rights, that under normal circumstances only bone fide farmers are allowed, and business rates that should have been paid to the council for both businesses were also ignored.   WOW.

It would have been obvious to most, that the many horses bred at Blaenpant would need to be kept elsewhere for the winter months, as the Special Area of Conservation they had been kept on over the past four years was severely overgrazed and needed to be rested.  Blaenpant did boast other land on higher ground, but as it was extremely boggy and literally covered in rushes, it was not ideal for horses as there was very little grass.  (I was told over many years by E. Bowen, the agricultural activity at Blaenpant was cropping of hay). This was to excuse 'agricultural rights'.   Ummmm - where would the hay cropping have taken place?  Certainly not at Blaenpant: the only fields apart from the SAC were the fields smothered in rushes.  Unless horses have taken to eating rush there was no hay cropping on this unit.  More dishonesty; all very troubling to me as this is far removed from conduct one should expect from the local authority.

I decided to point out to Mr. Eifion Bowen that if he was to exercise his role as Head of Planning and Enforcement he should take heed that the gigantic shed was being used for the equine business not as per the planning application; it required change of use to 'equine'.   It didn't much bother us that horses were being over wintered in the shed, but it was deeply concerning that the Head of Planning Carmarthen Council was ignoring his own statutory duties and allowing more dishonest practices to carry on without control.  It was quite obvious he was giving the neighbours 'favour'.  This didn't bode well for our well being nor our own property investment.  My concern was - where will this giving 'favour'  to these hauliers end, and what effect was it going to have on our property and our quality of life living here. 

Mr. Bowen Head of Planning/Enforcement carried out a site visit to the unauthorised haulage yard, and later was to write and tell me that there was no sign of horses in the sheds.  I was making 'unfounded allegations'.  Really.........

Could these be the horses in the shed???????????

These blatant lies are disgraceful when coming from ones local authority and should never be tolerated.  They should be exposed by politicians from all parties.

This shed was just the beginning

Officers Code of Conduct.

2.1 Planning is not an exact science. Rather, it relies on informed judgement within a firm policy context. It is also highly contentious because its decisions affect the daily lives of everyone and the private interests of individuals, landowners and developers. This is heightened by the openness of the system (it actively invites public opinion before taking decisions) and the legal nature of development plans and decision notices. It is important, therefore, that the process is characterised by open and transparent decision making. 2.2 One of the key purposes of the planning system is to control development in the public interest. In performing this role, planning necessarily affects land and property interests, particularly the financial value of landholdings and the quality of their settings. It is important, therefore, that planning authorities should make planning decisions affecting these interests, openly, impartially, with sound judgement and for justifiable reasons. The process should leave no grounds for suggesting with any justification that a decision has been partial, biased or not well-founded in any way. 2.3 The purpose of this code is to set out clearly the way in which the authority will deal with planning applications. The code applies to both Councillors and Officers.

Everything that has been allowed over the many years, at the adjacent property, flies in the face of this Code.

People can find planning problems a bore - it ceases to become a bore when it affects every aspect of ones life.

No planning no change of use.....................

Industrial business - no planning.

Living adjacent to a haulage business was not a choice of our making.  Had we known through our searches this business had been approved by the Council and licensed to operate from an agricultural unit, we would not have purchased this smallholding.  This wasn't the case though.  This industrial business was not operating within the planning laws and the Head of Planning had no intention of following correct procedures. Two families who had previously owned our property had complained to the Council about this industrial business operating without planning consents, and due to suffering extremely serious intimidation from the hauliers, had beeen forced into moving away.  Astoundingly, Carmarthen Council had not heeded the evidence nor did they monitor this unit.   They refused to accept from anyone that this industrial business was operating.  The hauliers had moved into Blaenpant in mid 2001 and within two and a half years had forced two families out of the property we had just moved into.   We were now facing the same bullying and intimidation that others had found too much to bear, but had been able to escape from.  We weren't so lucky.  The person that sold to us should have informed us, but due to the intimidation, she was desperate to escape from here. 

(The Chief Executive Mark James told me at a meeting recently (2016) that my seller should have told us that this haulage business was operating from Blaenpant.  He blames her!  The Council are totally responsible for failing in their statutory duty to apply proper procedures within the planning regulations).


Carmarthen Council were undeniably responsible for the shameful situation that had befallen three families due to their deliberate negligence in not inviting planning consents and changes of use for two businesses that required both.  The utter disgraceful conduct of the hauliers towards those that dared complain to the council was also the responsibility of the council as the council compounded an already bad situation into one that was far worse.  To lie to all and sundry about the very existence of this business gave the hauliers the belief that they had the right to threaten and abuse all those who were opposing their use of the holding. 

Every complaint made about the neighbours activities, whether it was quarrying - vehicle maintenance - power hosing of HGVs - cutting of scrap - welding etc., was denied by E. Bowen Head of Planning, and this fed into their conviction that they had the right to abuse those who opposed what they were doing.

It is the sole responsibility of Councils to ensure panning regulations are abided by, and had they followed procedure, no-one would have suffered at the hands of these people.
We were advised by Mr. Canning (Enforcement Manager) that Councils rely on members of the public alerting them to planning abuses, but in the case of Blaenpant, officers who should have been taking action, refused to be honest about the very existence of such businesses. As the Public Service Ombudsman Peter Tyndal said,  "Anybody seeing that evidence would have realised that there was a strong case for action. The difficulty with these things is that if you don't tackle them early they have a tendency not to go away but to get worse.  If enforcement had happened then the subject matter of much of the dispute wouldn't have existed and the likelihood is that the extremely vitriolic nature of the neighbour dispute wouldn't have been as it was".   He was absolutely right!

Carmarthen Council are solely to blame for the abuse we were now being exposed to.
The two piglets who were now living within a couple of meters of our bedroom had been given names - our names.   At 6 a.m. each and every morning Karen Thomas would encourage excited squeels and grunts from them by shaking a bucket of breakfast feed as she walked down to the bottom of the paddock to their pen, which was directly outside our bedroom window.  If we weren't awoken by their drivers arriving to begin their day, Karen Thomas would make sure her pigs would wake us. 



 












As always Karen Thomas would verbalise her views on both Eddie and Trisha exceedingly loudly with the two pigs.   Apart from the usual derogatory comments being aimed at 'Trisha' every morning about her eating habits, her grunts, her needing beauty sleep, and much more, on this particular day (following Karen Thomas's assault upon me), the piglet was spoken to in a more sinister tone.  This is part of the dialogue Karen Thomas imparted to me via her piglet........."you are a very naughty girl trish - I'm going to teach you a little lesson - you're going to have such a shock -  silly little pigs - Eddie, trish has had such a bang on her nose -  that's what happens to silly pigs trish, when they go poking their nose where it's not supposed to be poked - play with fire  you'll get burned- just don't go poking your nose into business that doesn't concern you trish - if you keep out of our business you won't get hurt - that's what happens to naughty girls when they poke their noses into where it's not supposed to be poked, they get hurt silly little pig........and on it went.     The police showed no concern, and I was still left facing a charge of assault.

August 05

The abuse of us continued on a regular basis  and changed the course of our lives.  With no support from the police, nor the Council's anti social behaviour department, we installed a small CCTV camera at the top of our driveway as protection and we carried our camcorder with us at all times. This is all we had.

Drainage pipes came next.  These were laid across the neighbours paddock and of course directed onto the rear of our property instead of onto our fields, causing flooding to the area at the back of our cottage.

Drainage pipes to flood our garden area

Eifion Bowen - Head of Planning chatting to Andrew Thomas at the top of our right of way.

 September 05

The pigs were very lively and made a lot of noise especially at 6. a.m. in the mornings at feed time when Karen would deliberately cause a frenzy. The pigs weren't punishment enough though.
The Thomases erected a board on top of the fence in front of our bedroom window blocking out our view completely.  We couldn't see the piglets any more, but we could still hear them.  I did complain to E. Bowen (Head of Planning) who decided the Thomases needed privacy when visiting their two pigs.  He did admit it required planning permission as it exceeded the height of six foot, but said that it was a privacy board and was not in the public interest to enforce against it.  So it stayed for years along with the large blue removal lorry.

Eifion Bowen decided this monstrosity could remain without planning permission.

Eifion Bowen (Head of Planning) was to decide an awful lot of developments and activities at Blaenpant wouldn't require planning permissions, which included of course no planning permissions nor change of use for an industrial business along with an equine business.

Another gate was installed on the right of way and both gates were now heavily boarded over, having the effect of blocking our exit and totally obscuring us from view of the main road.   The psychological impact was very damaging to us.  These gates signalled the end of our freedom to come and go untroubled.  Every day we endured stress from the visual aspect of all around us to the feeling of complete hopelessness at being imprisoned, unable to escape from it.  The gates were shut at all times. When we drove out we would not close the gates as they served no purpose other than to cause us severe anxiety, but they would be shut immediately. The gates and the right of way became the Thomases playground. 

More scrap was eventually parked next to our gate and more mind games were played out on us. Carmarthen Council's Head of Planning continued to deny there was any evidence of a haulage business nor indeed an equine business.  We along with others who had supplied evidence were clearly living in the land of fantasy.

At my meeting with the chief Executive Mark James in 2016, he conceded without prompting, that my neighbours were vile despicable people.  Strange he should be saying this now, when for all previous years he informed all and sundry that this was 'a neighbour dispute'.