Owners of historic cottage sue for £415k after neighbour's fire burned home down

01 December 2023 , 22:39

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The fire was started by sparks from a neighbour's stove (Image: Hampshire fire and rescue service)

Owners of a £1million thatched cottage burnt down in a fire caused by sparks from a neighbour’s stove are suing for compensation.

Paul and Lynda Ben-David saw their historic home in Lower Froyle, Alton, in Hampshire, go up in flames in November 2017. An entire row of homes were blitzed in the blaze that needed more than 70 firefighters tackle it.

Now the Ben-Davids, both aged 73, are seeking £415,000 in compensation, in a legal action taken against insurer Hiscox. The fire started in a cottage owned by Gordon Mitchell and his partner with the lawsuit reportedly claiming that a flue outlet over the roof of their neighbour was installed too low and this contributed to the fire.

The historic cottage was blitzed in the fire (Hampshire fire and rescue service)

The blaze quickly spread through the Grade ll listed 18th century property and it took several hours for it to be put out finally around 5am. Mr Mitchell, 76, managed to escape the blaze thanks to neighbour knocking on his window.

"My next door neighbour phoned the fire brigade. We were in and didn't know the roof was ablaze, but he saw the flames up on the roof. He phoned the fire brigade and knocked on our window and said, 'you've got a fire on your roof'. We reckon that was within minutes of it starting," he said at the time, reported the Mail. "The fire brigade came very promptly which was remarkable in a village. At the moment we are just getting out of it what we can. We saved most of the ground floor stuff but the first floor... just went."

Holiday family return to find everything they own - even cat - destroyed in fire

Paul and Lynda Ben-David are now seeking compensation (Hampshire fire and rescue service)

The flue and stove at Mr Mitchell’s home was installed by Farnham Stoves in 2013 and while it has since been dissolved, the Ben-Davids are taking legal action against its insurer Hiscox.

They claim that Farnham Stoves had a duty of care to ensure work was carried out to correct standards and good practice, to avoid foreseeable damage. And it alleges that they failed to comply with building regulations over the height of the flue, and it was as a result of a breach of duty and negligence that the cottage was burnt down. The Mirror has contacted insurers Hiscox for comment.

Tim Hanlon