by Beth Robson

brobson@thekmgroup.co.uk

A little light has been shed on a long-running dispute.

Widow Kathleen Thomson has been locked in a battle with the trustees of Deal Maritime and Local History Museum, who built a fence just inches from her home.

The fence completely blocked out light from Mrs Thomson's window, causing her to leave home due to stress.

But the trustees claimed they were only protecting their artefacts, on the advice of police.

Now a temporary solution has been reached - via a hole in the fence!

Trustees at Deal Maritime and Local History Museum restored light to one window on Saturday but the fence remains, blocking the second window.

Trustees spokesman Mike Eddy said it will stay up until both feuding parties talk about how they can continue to protect the museum’s property and artefacts at the same time as honouring Mrs Thomson’s privacy from the museum’s newly installed CCTV.

But Mrs Thomson's son-in-law Martin Catt said the family will not continue with mediation after failed efforts left them and mediator Julie Rook feeling let down.

He has now joined Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke’s calls for trustees to resign and will launch a new petition for resignations on carnival night, July 29. He said: "The trustees have shown themselves incompetent in administering the museum in their charge.

"They failed to meet their commitments after mediation.

"Instead of taking the fence down, they have fitted CCTV cameras facing Kath’s property. Again they have wasted the charity’s money on another futile act."

Mr Eddy said no public money had been spent on the dispute with Mrs Thomson.