Road battle couple face eviction

The house will make way for a new junction

A couple, whose home is due to be demolished to make way for improvements on the A1 in Lincolnshire, are fighting impending eviction.

Noel Sims, 75, said he and his wife Shirley will not move out of their home at Colsterworth, near Grantham.

They have been offered compensation and a council home but they said they have the right to stay in their own home.

The Highways Agency insisted that if they did not leave, it would have no choice but to forcibly evict them.

Compensation demand

A spokesperson said they have worked very hard to keep Mr Sims informed and the couple had a chance to oppose the plans at a public inquiry, which ruled against them.

But Mr Sims, who has lived at the property with his wife for 36 years, said he would not move unless he was offered more then the original offer of £300,000 in compensation.

He said: "They've got to come and grab me and put handcuffs on and take me out the door. There's no other way they can do it is there?

"They will have to drag us out - and then I will come back when they let me out of prison.

"They have two options, either they lock me up and throw away the key or they put me six feet under ground."

The Highways Agency want to put a road junction on the Sims' land to improve road safety on the A1.