AN ENGAGED couple forced by cancer to halt the purchase of their dream home face more heartbreak because the builder refuses to refund their £38,000 deposit. Businessman Arthur Blundell and his French-born fiancee Laurie Mescam, of Claygate, Collier Street, near Maidstone, were planning to marry in January before moving into a £360,000 luxury home at Kings Hill, near West Malling.

They paid £38,000 to Maidstone-based Hillreed Homes for their home on the new Townsend Square development but their dreams were shattered when Miss Mescam, 36, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a year to live. She is undergoing treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. The bombshell has thrown all their plans into disarray including the purchase of their new home.

The couple no longer wish to go ahead with the deal because they fear they will never be able to live in the house together. Miss Mescam also wants to be with her family in Brittany for the final months of her life.

Mr Blundell, 49, told Hillreed about his new circumstances and asked for the return of their deposit. He said the house has not been completed and the firm should be able to sell it to someone else. He told Hillreed to keep £10,000 to cover legal and other costs and to refund the balance of £28,000. But he claims Hillreed told him he had entered a binding contract and had refused to give him anything more than £5,000. It only promised to refund £5,000 if he produced a hospital letter confirming his fiancee's condition.

Mr Blundell said: "I know I've entered a contract but what about compassion? How does one person live in a five-bedroom house? I don't want the house now because Laurie and I were buying it together."

Dean Markall, Hillreed's sales and marketing director, said that under the firm's contract, there was no obligation to refund anything. But he said the company was willing to repay £5,000 as a "gesture" if Mr Blundell produced a medical consultant's letter.

The firm's contractual obligation was with Mr Blundell, not his partner. "His personal circumstances and his personal decision are his choice and they relate to somebody who is not party to the contract that we have," said Mr Markall. "We as a company rely on our contracts. Our contract with any purchaser is legally-binding. We are a compassionate company, however our contracts do stand."

Mr Markall added: "It would be far better for Mr Blundell to complete the transaction and then re-sell the property."