Man risks jail after shutting himself in ‘fortress’ farm as ex-wife demands house in divorce settlement
Hubby spends four-years under siege in home he's kitted out with CCTV and barbed wire
A MAN has spent four years barricaded behind barbed wire in the home he lost in a divorce.
Peter Elliott, 49, faces jail after defying court orders demanding he leaves the £500,000 farm he turned into a fortress.
The helicopter pilot has surrounded the property with barbed wire, fitted CCTV cameras and has hurled rocks at bailiffs.
He was evicted on one occasion but broke back in within days.
Mr Elliott has warned: “The only way I will leave is in a body bag.”
Ex-wife Leonie Butler, 45, has now won an order to have him “committed to prison” for six months over his defiance following their bitter £6million split.
A judge suspended the term for eight weeks giving him a last chance to vacate the property near Appleby, Cumbria.
An Englishman’s home is his castle. No one gets mine while I’ve a beating heart
Peter Elliott
Mr Elliott, who rarely goes out, said yesterday: “An Englishman’s home is his castle. No one gets mine while I’ve a beating heart.”
Lawyer John Chuku said Mr Elliott claimed witnesses misled a Carlisle court hearing.
He used to be a £96,000-a-year pilot for Stobart Group boss Andrew Tinkler.
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The row blew up in November 2012 when Elliott was ordered out of Pinewood Farm, near Appleby, Cumbria.
The farm, which comes with 17 acres of land, is solely in his ex-wife’s name but he claimed the divorce settlement was unfair.
The court was told that Elliott surrounded the property with barbed wire, piled up rocks and tree branches at the entrances and fought off court-appointed bailiffs by throwing boulders at them.
Malcolm Greenwood, who owns a security firm, was called on to serve Elliott with an eviction notice in March last year.
He said: “He had claimed previously that he had been beaten up, which was not true, so I informed the police who attended with us.
“Mr Elliott had put barbed wire fences around the property, there were tree branches piled up and he had built himself a big rock pile in front of the property. He began throwing boulders at us.”
Mr Elliott is wilfully obstructing the order by refusing to vacate the property and enable it’s sale
Mr Justice Moylan
Elliott was not in court for the one-day family court hearing in Carlisle last week as he was unwell.
His lawyer John Chuku said his client wanted the case thrown out because witnesses for his ex wife had deceived the court.
Mr Justice Moylan said: “It is now four years since the financial remedy order and she is still waiting for its enforcement.
“Mr Elliott is wilfully obstructing the order by refusing to vacate the property and enable it’s sale.”
Ms Butler declined to comment after the hearing.
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