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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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Adam Dutton & Ryan Fahey

Couple who built 4ft fence to block fish and chip queues forced to sell home

A couple say they have been forced to sell their home after getting fed up of queues of customers outside the neighbouring chip shop.

The pair built a 4ft-high fence to block of the hungry crowds, but say it has lost them £105,000 from the home's final sale price.

READ MORE - Edinburgh woman opens her own cafe after quitting job and learning to bake in Paris

Stephen and Christine Williams put up a fence that extended onto the pavement into the layby to get some privacy and to prevent people using their window sill as a bench.

The bizarre dispute, branded 'Fence-gate' by locals, went viral around the world last September, reports the Mirror.

But as the row intensified, Stephen, 58, claimed an outraged man aimed an airgun at Christine before firing.

The couple, who used to run a sweet shop from the property, were so spooked they removed the fence a week later.

They are now selling the three-bed semi-detached house for £195,000.

Land Registry records show the house was bought for £300,000 in 2006 - a whopping £105,000 more than the current asking price.

Christine, 51, who works in a nursing home, said relations with her neighbours had "gone sour" since the fence row.

She said: "We were going to sell the house beforehand but what's gone on has soured it a bit.

"We were going to sell the house but it brought it all forward."We took the fence down 24th September, it was up for a week.

"We just want to move on with it.

"I got trolled on Facebook. Some of the comments we saw were awful."

Recalling the moment a yob fired an air rifle at Christine, she said: "To think the guy who shot at me got away with that. I said to my husband 'that guys got a gun'

"The minute he aimed at me, Stephen dragged me inside."

Stephen added: "We've had people eating their chips on our windowsill and looking through the window while we are trying to relax. It's not on.

"Most people wouldn't want people using their land as a footpath and neither do we. We just wanted to protect our property."

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The couple ran a sweet shop up until 2019, but closed and converted it into a living room.

Estate agent Pattinson, who are selling the house, say the property has "so many potential options".

In the particulars, they say: "Perhaps it will become a beautiful and substantial family home, maybe with a separate granny annex, or split into two separate dwellings.

"Maybe the former shop could once again be put back into service, and what could be done with the garage...? The mind boggles."

Mr and Mrs Williams are hoping to move 11 miles away to the idyllic village of Rothbury, where notorious killer Raoul Moat shot himself after being cornered by cops.

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