Man 'tricked' into spending £180k on home he has no right to live in full-time

12 March 2024 , 13:00

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Mike Chesworth bought his mobile home for £180,000 in 2019 (Image: BBC Studios)

A man has told BBC Panorama how he spent £180,000 on a holiday park home after he was allegedly told he could live there full-time - despite this not being the case.

Normally, you can't live on a site permanently if they only have a holiday park licence. Instead, you’re usually given a time limit for how long you can normally spend in a holiday park home, and for which part of the year.

Delivery driver Mike Chesworth, 59, purchased a caravan in Wyre Country Park, located just outside Blackpool, Lancashire, to retire with his wife. But now he claims he is stuck with a home he cannot live in full-time, after allegedly being told by the site owner David Welch that they could stay there permanently.

The park only has a holiday licence, which means the couple could be evicted by their local council for breaching planning rules. BBC Panorama says the contract they signed in 2019 says the caravan is for holiday use only. Panorama claims it spoke to five other residents at Wyre Country Park who also claim they were falsely told they could live there. The BBC says people are "being tricked" into buying these homes.

Mr Chesworth says he is now working six days a week to save money to take Wyre Country Park to court. He told the BBC: "You spent a lot of time and effort looking to retire, and you work 30 or 40 years of your life to do it, only to find the dream you thought you were going to have is the perpetual nightmare that you can't seem to end. And it's just, it's heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking."

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Wyre Country Park owner David Welch denied misleading buyers when contacted by Panorama and said signs in the park and sales agreements clearly state it is a holiday park. The Mirror has also contacted Wyre Country Park for comment.

The British Holiday and Home Parks Association said: "Many thousands of people buy a holiday caravan or residential park home each year - the vast majority of whom have a positive experience, and go on to enjoy all the holiday and lifestyle benefits that come with ownership."

Levi Winchester