Anger over trailer left in street

It was a view that lifted John Anderton's spirits when he got up in the morning - the peaceful grounds of Yarmouth's historic Royal Naval Hospital. But for the past 13 months all he has been able to see out of his front window is a tatty 10ft high trailer parked directly outside.

It was a view that lifted John Anderton's spirits when he got up in the morning - the peaceful grounds of Yarmouth's historic Royal Naval Hospital.

But for the past 13 months all he has been able to see out of his front window is a tatty 10ft high trailer parked directly outside.

Despite its flat tyres and vandalised appearance, Mr Anderton, 66, and his increasingly enraged Queens Road neighbours have failed to have it shifted because of an apparent loophole in the law.

Police have said they cannot act because it is legally parked and not causing an obstruction.

The borough council's environmental health team said it cannot treat it as an abandoned vehicle because the owner's identity is known.

Retired management consultant Mr Anderton, who lives with his 16-year-old son Sam, has even considered moving but was told by an estate agent that the presence of the trailer would devalue his terrace home by as much as £4,000.

"The agent said he could not even take a photograph of my property because the trailer blocked the view," he said.

Mr Anderton said the problem cropped up in September last year, his next-door neighbour Sandra Walker leaving the trailer there while he was away one weekend.

"She said it was for her son to use as a burger van but she runs a second-hand shop in the town and it appears that she is using it to store goods," he said, adding that despite requests from Mr Anderton and other neighbours she had refused to move it.

He said: "We are sick of it. It is a public nuisance and an eyesore. When the vandals were attacking the trailer they also damaged my car."

The EDP yesterday tried to contact Mrs Walker but her partner said they did not wish to make a comment.