A PROPER-TY company broke into a 93-year-old woman's home while she was in a nursing home in a bid to take possession of it, a court heard.

Workmen changed the locks at the house while dementia sufferer Freda Wallis was in the nursing home.

The incident happened during a row over the lease of the cottage in Paradise Road, Fareham. The court heard that Mrs Wallis became ill at the time of the break-in in March last year and died 12 months later.

Her son Ben told the court: "Because of the actions of the other party, I couldn't make the last year of her life happy.

"We almost lost her last year - I blame the other party for that.''

Portsmouth County Court heard how Mrs Wallis was given life-tenancy on the cottage in the early Eighties and told to pay a peppercorn rent of £1 a week.

The cottage was also completely refurbished at that time.

In exchange, Judge Robin Wilson said, Mrs Wallis handed over part of her garden so that developers Gudgeon Construction could build four houses.

Mr Wallis, 53, had claimed in court that he, too, had a tenancy-for-life lease on the cottage hand-ed down to him by his mother.

But Judge Wilson made a possession order in favour of Truryn Leisure Services (UK) Ltd, whose registered address was given as PO Box 243, Fareham.

He told Mr Wallis that he now had 27 days to quit the cottage - his home since the age of four.

He also said Mr Wallis faced paying trespass costs to the building's owners of £10 for each day he had spent there since his mother's lease officially ended two month ago.

"The meter is already running against you and has been running against you since June 24," he said. Judge Wilson was also critical of Truryn, saying there may be "compelling arguments" that they had behaved unreasonably.

"It must have been obvious to them that 'mother' had the benefit of a tenancy-for-life - it was pretty clear on the face of it."

John Hannah said he served documents con-cerning the cottage in Paradise Road on behalf of Truryn to Mrs Wallis at Cams Ridge Nursing Home: "I delivered papers to the matron there," he said.

Social worker Audrey Crutchfield said the pensioner had needed 24-hour care because she suffered from dementia and psychiatric problems.

Counsel Martin Dray, representing Truryn, said of Mr Wallis' claim: "I submit that the over-whelming evidence in this case is indicative of no tenancy-for-life."

Speaking later the glazing surveyor confessed: "I have lived in that cottage for 50 years. "I couldn't feel worse."

A spokesman for Truryn Leisure Services declined to comment after the case.

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