A war of words has broken out over claims a garden was damaged by building work on a neighbouring development.

Steve Challinger, 62, claims his beloved tree and rotary washing line was crushed when a 60-foot tree partially fell on to his garden and nearby excavation work damaged his fence and garden walls.

He blames work to build a block of flats on land behind his home in Merryweather Close, Dartford.

Developer Brenchley Homes denies the allegations and claims Mr Challinger has refused to talk to them about his complaint.

Mr Challinger, a mental health care assistant, said: “This is soul destroying. The whole ordeal has left me feeling very depressed and very angry.

“This may not mean a lot to some people, but I built this garden over many years.

“I have lived here for 20 years. My life has been wrecked by this development.”

Mr Challinger said he showed a senior construction site worker the damage, but he denied the contractor was at fault, claiming the fence was rotten and roots caused the damage to the walls.

Mr Challinger contacted the police, who told the Messenger they had written to him advising what action he could take but they would not take the matter any further as they deemed it to be a civil matter.

Philip Ponsford, director of Brenchley Homes, confirmed that trees had been removed near Mr Challinger’s home but was not aware of them causing damage.

He said: “We have tried to talk to him but he won’t talk to us. We are not interested in causing problems with our neighbours.

“If there is damage he can prove that wasn’t there already we are willing to talk to him about it.”