‘I’ll take it apart brick by brick!’: Desperate homeowner tears down roof of his own house after war with tenant of £150k three-bed terrace who sued him for evicting her
This is the moment a desperate homeowner exploded with frustration after a long-running dispute with a tenant – and dismantled his own house starting with the roof.
Despairing Louis Scudder, 52, was at the centre of a 24-hour stand-off with police after he set off on a mission to demolish his three-bedroomed terraced property.
Friends told how Mr Scudder snapped after reaching the end of his tether following a 17-year battle to take back control of his £150,000 home which he became convinced had been ‘stolen from him’.
When the rampage ended, he left behind a scene of devastation which neighbours likened to ‘a disaster movie’.
Residents told how they were left in fear of their safety after Mr Scudder climbed onto the roof of his property and began ripping off tiles with his bare hands.
He smashed down walls and fittings with a sledgehammer before taking up position upstairs in the property hurling debris to the ground for hours on end.
Louis Scudder, has found himself at the centre of a 24-hour stand off with authorities in a bid to demolish his property (Pictured: The wrecked property)
The homeowner has been engaged in a 17-year-long battle ‘to take back control’ of his £150,000 terraced home
The ordeal left a scene of devastation, which saw Mr Scrudder rip of tiles from his own roof with his bare hand (Pictured: The home from a road view)
The landlord claims tenant Ayesha Kramer (right), 50, should have quit the property and opted to take matters into his own hands
His one-man demolition operation saw police seal off the property and evacuate nearby homes in Sheerness, Kent.
Officers in riot gear were drafted in while specially trained negotiators tried to coax him down from the rafters of his wrecked property.
Ambulance crews and fire fighters were also called in amid fears damage to pipes and cables could cause an explosion.
Walls came crashing down and pipe work was shattered as Mr Scudder rained blow after blow on the property reducing brickwork to piles of rubble.
He allegedly told officers: ‘I’m not coming down until I’ve destroyed the whole place. I’m going to take it apart brick by brick.’
Mr Scudder claims he was left homeless after he asked a relative to rent out the property and a long-term tenancy agreement was put in place without his knowledge.
He told friends he felt powerless to take back his property until the lease came to an end earlier this year.
He claims tenant Ayesha Kramer, 50, should have quit the property and decided to take direct action amid a series of civil legal actions.
Describing the mayhem Mr Scudder’s next-door neighbour said: ‘It was like the scene of a disaster movie. It was horrible.
Police where forced to evacuate neighbours and seal of the area as the one-man demolition operation continued in Sheerness Kent
The furious landlord reigned blow after blow taking a sledgehammer to the walls of the terraced house
Fire services as well as ambulance crews were called to the scene as fears grew damage to pipes or wires could cause an explosion
He allegedly told officers: ‘I’m not coming down until I’ve destroyed the whole place. I’m going to take it apart brick by brick’
‘The first we knew about it was when we heard all the noise. He was up there on the roof destroying everything and chucking things out. He was shouting a lot.
‘He was up there for hours on end just smashing things. It didn’t stop until the next day. You just didn’t know when it was going to end.
‘There was debris flying around everywhere. We had glass, bricks and slate crashing down.
‘He was pulling everything apart. He had a sledge hammer that he was smashing everything up with it.’
The woman, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We’ve lived here for 20 years. It’s normally so quiet.
‘The whole street was closed off and there were police everywhere.
‘We’ve had the police, the riot ones with the shields, the fire brigade, ambulance. They’ve all been out here.
‘They couldn’t get him out as he blockaded himself in. ‘They brought in negotiators to talk him down.
‘After a couple of hours the police told us to go. We weren’t allowed in the house. The people on the other side had to evacuate as well. We had to stay the night with other neighbours.
‘It got so dangerous they turned the gas, electricity and water off.
‘They were very concerned because all the pipes were getting damaged. They were worried that if he carried on there could be an explosion.
‘It was very scary knowing I could lose my house as well the way he was going.’
Mr Scudder alleges he was left homeless after he asked a relative to rent out the property, but a long-term tenancy was put in his place without his knowledge (Pictured: The roof of the house)
Earlier this year, he confessed to friends that he felt powerless to take back his house when the lease came to an end
Neighbours have complained that his one man demolition operation has also damaged their homes (Pictured: Mr Scudder’s roof)
‘In the end he gave himself up. It was only after that that we were allowed to return to our home.
‘He’s caused damage to our house – my chimney’s falling down.
‘I had a lot of ornaments in the front garden that were damaged and solar lights outside. We needed a new fence because that was destroyed.’
Describing events which led up to the drama she said: ‘He wanted her out as he wanted to go back and live in it but he’s gone the wrong way about it.
‘She went out one day and he broke his way back into the house and he moved back in there for a while.
‘Then it was all going through the courts and he moved out again but then he decided to go in through the back way and smash the place up.
‘His attitude seemed to be if I can’t have my house, you can’t have it either so he set out to demolish it.
‘He went up there on the Wednesday and he didn’t come down until Thursday evening.’
Danny Owen – who has lived in the street for more than a year – said: ‘He got on the roof and started tearing the house to pieces. He did it twice.
‘The first time he tore the whole roof down with his bare hands. He smashed all the tiles. He was ripping them off and was throwing them.
‘He punched the windows with his hands which were all cut and bloodied. There was scaffolding put up after that as attempts were made to fix the roof.
‘He wasn’t happy with it and he went up there again and wrecked the place.
‘All I heard him say was ‘I’m not coming out until I take this whole place apart – brick by brick.
‘He said he was going to destroy the house. It’s his family home. He grew up there. He owns it but he hasn’t been allowed to live there.
‘He says he tried to do things properly but in the end he felt helpless as everything always went in her favour.
‘He demolished all the inside. He smashed up the bathroom and there was worry because of all the pipework that was damaged. There was water leaking.
‘There’s been this long going dispute with the tenant which has ended in a long legal fight. He reached breaking point and it ended with this.
Danny Owen who has lived on the street twice for over a year claims Mr Scudder had made his way to the roof and starting tearing away at it twice
Mr Scudder had grown up in the home and allegedly asked his aunt to find someone to rent it short-term so his mortgage was covered
‘I feel sorry for him. He went about it the wrong way. It’s very sad. He’s hit rock bottom. He thought the authorities let him down and he had a genuine grievance.
‘He should have gone about it differently but he obviously wasn’t thinking like that.’
Another neighbour said: ‘He was so irate you couldn’t tell what he was going to do from one minute to the next. He was throwing stuff from the roof and things like that.
‘It was safer just to stay indoors and stay out of his way.
‘He kept police at bay saying he was going to hurt himself if they tried to stop him.
‘There was a lot of police. I had to sleep in my car as the police wouldn’t let me into my house
‘It went on all day and all night. The police had generators on and lights shining on the building.
‘From what I hear he was the landlord. He was saying. The courts were always ruling against him. He felt he had lost everything.
‘His attitude was ‘If I can’t have my home no-one can.’
The drama began shortly after 3pm on August 14 when horrified locals flooded police with 999 calls as the wrecking rampage began.
It was just before 4pm the following day when Mr Scudder finally came down and gave himself up to officers.
Friends of Ms Kramer told how she has been left traumatised by the experience – losing her home and most of her possessions.
It’s thought she first moved into the property in 1999 and it was there that she brought up her three daughters – twins aged 26 and their older sister who is now aged 30.
Back in March it’s claimed that fearing the authorities were against him Mr Scudder waited for Ms Kramer to leave the property before removing her possessions and dumping them outside the changing the locks.
On Tuesday Mr Scudder was told he is facing jail when he appeared before Canterbury County Court after he failed to comply with an order to allow Ms Kramer back into the property.
It later emerged a 25-year lease was drawn up, which Mr Scudder claims he did not sign, and has been homeless jumping from sofa to sofa waiting for the lease to be up
Mr Scudder (Pictured) is being sued by Ms Kramer for unlawful eviction for which she is seeking damages, while he is counter suing for rent arrears and damage caused to the property during her tenancy
Mr Scudder – who was separated from Ms Kramer and her legal team by a screen – told the contempt of court hearing: ‘I feel like an injured fox being hounded.’
He added: ‘I don’t understand why I have to give her the keys to my property.
‘No-one’s listening to me. I’m so angry inside.’
After the proceedings were adjourned until September 6 friends spoke out on Mr Scudder’s behalf.
Zoe Clulow, who is helping him in the action, told how Mr Scudder was forced to leave the property for a number of years after finding himself in ‘a challenging personal situation’.
Ms Clulow, 29, said: ‘He’s lived in the property since he was eight years old. It’s the home he grew up in.
‘Many years ago he took up the opportunity to buy it from the council.
‘He had to go away and he asked a relative to get someone in to cover his mortgage.
‘It was on the condition that when he needed the property back all he needed to do was give six months notice.
‘In 2007 he applied to get his house back. He went into a court hearing and thought he would be able to move in but the woman was there with a solicitor, a barrister and someone from the council.
‘They presented him with a tenancy agreement which he knew nothing about and had never seen before.
‘It was a 25-year tenancy with a rent of £400-a-month.
‘There was no clause for the rent to be increased or for any notice to be given. It was completely drawn up in her favour.
‘He didn’t sign the tenancy and there is a dispute about who signed it.
‘He’s not legally minded and he didn’t know what to do. He respected the court’s ruling and waited for 17 years until the end of the lease.
‘During all those years he’s been homeless. He’s been jumping from friend to friend, living in spare bedrooms, on sofas. If friends had motorhomes he would stay there for a couple of months, he stayed on boats – anywhere he could find.
‘He’s a man with a home that’s homeless. It’s ridiculous.
‘The tenant started paying £600-a-month after the judge ruled he should be able to collect more rent but it wasn’t covering his mortgage even after he changed to an interest only one.
‘This has destroyed this man’s life. He’s the loveliest man you could ever meet.
‘He just wants a quiet life. His dream in life which he was hoping this house could help him do was to buy a small piece of land and rescue animals.
‘He’s a broken man and it’s not fair how he’s been treated.’
After his first attempt to demolish the property in June, Mr Scudder was detained on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and breaching an injunction.
He was bound over to keep the peace for 12 months after his first bid to wreck the property.
Mr Scudder is also being sued by Ms Kramer for unlawful eviction for which she is seeking damages.
He is counter suing saying he is owed £14,000 in rent arrears and £17,000 damages to the property he claims were caused during Ms Kramer’s tenancy.
Mr Scudder is due to appear before Maidstone Crown Court on September 13 accused of burglary with intent to cause damage.
