Blazing trees, a smashed greenhouse and a mooning millionaire have all featured in a bitter six year border dispute between neighbours in one of Surrey's poshest suburbs.
Gerald Mead and wife Heather, of Forest Lodge, Forest Drive, in Kingswood, have been locked in an escalating conflict with neighbour, Neville Williams, over a narrow strip of land between their properties - each worth well in excess of £1m.
A gap where Neville Williams has cut down trees on the border which he believes he owns
Mr Mead, who has lived there for 19 years, insists he owns the land and has planted trees on it over the years, but his neighbour of 12 years is equally insistent it belongs to him.
Mr Williams, 53, says that a document from the Land Registry, seen by both parties, proves this, and is within his rights to cut down Mr Mead's trees and put up a "conifer screen" instead.
After a war of words lasting years, Mr Williams, a director of several companies including one that services Bentley and Rolls Royce cars, took matters into his own hands and started chopping down the trees this summer.
The Meads' severely damaged greenhouse
Then, while the Meads were away on holiday, more trees were cut down. An attempt to burn the severed trunks got out of hand and spread to more of the trees, destroying the Mead's greenhouse - an accident for which Mr Williams has apologised, and offered to pay.
The latest flashpoint came last month when Mr Williams mooned at the Meads - which they captured on camera.
Mr Williams told the Epsom Guardian on Tuesday: "Yes I did remove my trousers but I only did that after 18 months of Mrs Mead hiding in the bushes taking photos of me.
Gerald Mead standing at the border in a gap where his trees once stood
They are horrible, manky old trees. They need taking down."
Police have been called in and have spoken to both parties. Unable to resolve the conflict, they have referred the men to mediation - although an earlier mediation attempt failed a few years ago.
A photograph of the cut trees taken by the Meads
Mr Williams said: "We moved here for a peaceful life.
"There must be an element of racism in this - we have never had a decent conversation, not even in the early days.
"Common sense must prevail. It’s completely got out of proportion."
A photograph of Neville Williams taken by the Meads
Mr Mead, who grew up in Brixton, denies that he is racist and wants a resolution to the issue, either-way.
He said: "It’s not right to cut the trees without presenting the proof first. If you’ve got proof, you’d shove it down people’s necks."
The 71-year-old, who was a plumber and heating engineer before going into property development, is adamant that he does not want a conifer screen planted because he "didn’t move to a million-pound house for it to look like Sutton".
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