This tiny plot of land is the subject of the long-running disagreement

A 16-year row over a plot the size of a "dining table" has finally ended with the owner having to cough-up £40,000.

Eighty five year-old Wendy Carter was forced to pay the astonishing amount in compensation to Brenchley and Matfield Parish Council because the land infringed on protected green space.

A charge was put against Mrs Carter's house because she couldn't afford the sum when the order was originally made.

The house was eventually sold last month.

She said: "Never has so much fuss been made by a parish council about a plot of ground the size of a dining table."

Wendy Carter and her late husband Richard

The long-running feud began in 1995 when Mrs Carter's late husband Richard, a former Lloyds Name, lost his job and the pair fell on hard times.

To raise cash, the couple divided Matfield Court, the nine-bedroom home they shared off Brenchley village green, and sold the other half.

To gain access to their part of the property they had a wall knocked down and a 12ft wide concrete path laid in its place.

This caught the attention of the council who said the boundary directly outside their home was part of the village green and therefore protected land.

A court battle ensued and in 2003 it was ruled the Carter's must pay £3,000 to keep the strip of land and a further £25,000 in legal costs to the council.

The house sold six weeks ago for £480,000, and interest accrued over eight years since the ruling added £15,000 to the total.

Mike Mackenzie, the council's chairman, said: "The council had no option but to fight this matter.

"The village green is free for the public to use not for somebody to put a strip of concrete down.

"We are sensitive to the family's position, but we couldn't go backwards on this issue.

"We will use the money wisely."

Mrs Carter, who has three grown-up children and eight grandchildren decided to sell the house after husband Richard died last year aged 86.

She has moved to Leamington Spa to be near her two daughters and feels no malice to the parish she left behind.

"I was very sad to leave the village but I had no choice," she said.

"I've nothing against the present council because none of them were involved in the original action.

"I just feel there was no democracy in this case because the council refused to listen."