DIY disaster set to cost £50,000

Stephen Lynch only wanted to dig foundations for a garden shed

A Coventry man is facing a bill of £50,000 after he dug a massive 6ft (2m) deep hole in his garden trying to build foundations for a shed.

Stephen Lynch said he was mistakenly following plans given to him which outlined the foundations for a house.

But the work has made other houses in Duke Barn Field, Stoke Heath, Coventry, unsafe, engineers have concluded.

A housing association which owns next door houses has got a court order forcing Mr Lynch to fill in the hole.

The order obtained by Whitefriars Housing Group means Mr Lynch faces £50,000 in court and repair costs.

Mr Lynch spent £20,000 on an excavator to dig the hole

"(The officials) have been foolish in saying I have got to do footings for a house when all I wanted was a shed," he said.

"When I've gone a metre down, I might as well go two metres and have two basements.

"I obviously didn't want it to come to this, but it's kept me busy, kept my mind busy."

He said he had spent £20,000 hiring a small excavator to dig out a large area to the side and rear of his home.

But after complaints from neighbours the housing association took legal action.

Footpath at risk

Assistant director of Whitefriars Housing Group Richard Osborne said they had gone to court as a last resort after repeated requests to Mr Lynch to stop digging were ignored.

"A specialist structural engineer identified the foundations of our neighbouring properties were at risk along with a significant potential for the collapse of the footpath.

"This forced us to take legal action," he said.

Work to fill in the hole is expected to start on Wednesday.