A MUM is furious after a 13ft high council wall collapsed on her daughter’s car – and it is refusing to pay her compensation.
Sally Taylor’s Victorian cottage backs onto a graveyard and is separated by the large stone wall.
Sally, 47, claims the almost 200-year-old wall has become unstable due to poor drainage over the past 20 years but officials have failed to maintain it.
The carer told her neighbour how she feared the structure was about to collapse just two weeks before a 30ft-wide section gave way.
Her daughter’s Ford Ka was parked beneath it at the time and was destroyed.
Sally now fears her cottage in the village of Fordington, near Dorchester, Dorset, is almost worthless as buyers would not risk living next to the wall.
And she is blaming Dorchester Town Council, which owns the wall, for failing to preserve it and allowing the disintegration to happen.
She points to a report by a structural engineer commissioned by the council which found surface water had not been allowed to drain away from the wall due to a lack of “weep holes”.
This caused two kinks to appear in the wall making it unstable.
Sally, who has lived in the cottage for 22 years, said: “It’s just complete negligence from the council.
“I have lived in this house for 22 years and have had worries about the wall as I have seen it moving the ground slowly towards my house.
“I have never seen the council once come and look at the wall and now things are stalling further as they have to examine the graveyard above.
“I came home from my night shift at work to see the work. My daughter and I were shocked and now angry with the situation.
“We just don’t really know what is happening. I’ve now been signed off work with depression for two weeks and that has never happened before.”
The structural engineer’s report said: “Due to the excessive and continuous rain that we have had and also the fact that there are no weep holes within the wall, has meant that water has not been able to drain away.
“The stability of the wall that remains is sound and does not need additional propping at this stage.
“We are satisfied that currently there is no danger of further collapse.”
However, the engineer did say that the wall was not at risk of further collapse.
The council has since added bracing supports to the house’s back wall in case of further subsidence.
Sally’s daughter Megan, 20, only passed her driving test in April but is now struggling to secure the insurance money on he wrecked car.
She bought the 2010 car for £3,000 but her insurance company is only offering £2,000.
They claim the council should help with the fees as they are liable for the damage.
Megan, who works at a care home, is completing a law degree with the Open University and has moved in with her boyfriend to reduce the journey to work.
Sally was moved out of her home for a night while the council conducted a structural report of the property and braced the rear walls of her house.
A spokesperson for Dorchester Town Council said they could not comment on the matter as the clerk was off.
