A bungalow owner is demanding an insurance company takes urgent action after waiting two years for it to fix a major problem.

Former policeman Steve Hann says his grandchildren can’t play in his back garden and he’s got no chance of selling his property.

The problems started for the Laddingford resident when his neighbour decided to clean out a large pond.

He said: “When we moved here in 2013, the pond was largely overgrown. But in the summer of 2022, my neighbour decided to tackle it.

“Not only did he remove the vegetation, but he drained the water and then had a digger in the pond excavating the silt on the bottom to a depth of between 1.2m and 1.8m.

“Then over one weekend, my garden began to tilt towards the pond.

“My patio, which was only two months old, cracked, and also a split appeared in my lawn, a deep crack, that ran within three feet of my house. Fortunately, the house itself wasn’t damaged.

“My neighbour immediately admitted responsibility and we began the process of getting his insurer - the NFU - to put matters right.

“But there has been delay after delay, and now after two years, still no work has been done.”

Because no final schedule of work has been determined, there is no exact figure on how much it will cost to fix the problems.

However, at one stage a loss assessor estimated it would be in the region of £100,000.

The pond, which appears on maps dating from 1860, is dug into clay and is approximately 35m long and 14m wide at the widest point.

The 69-year-old added: “Since then, my daughter and her two children, aged six and three, have moved back in with us.

“We can’t let them play in the garden - it’s too dangerous.

“We’d like to move and buy a bigger house because at the moment my daughter and the children are all in the same room, but we can’t move because no-one will buy the house while this problem remains unfixed.”

Mr Hann’s neighbour was contacted, but didn’t wish to comment and asked not to be named.

An NFU Mutual spokesman said: “Before undertaking any property repairs, we must agree an approach and scope of works with the property owner.

“With more complex claims, insurers may need to undertake a number of surveys and other measures in order to agree an approach before work on the damage begins.

“We have previously explained to Mr Hann that we are working to progress the complex repairs, but we have apologised for not providing him the consistent level of communication we would expect during this time.”