Couple who sunk £300,000 life savings into charming coach house that featured in C4's Escape to the Country say they can't live in it or sell it after 'neighbour from hell' cut off power supply

A couple who sunk their life savings into renovating an historic £300,000 coach house featured on Escape to the Country have been left without electricity after an angry neighbour cut their power supply.

Kevin and Julia Sheppard bought the bijou building in central Salisbury 15 years ago before a major renovation which even saw it being featured on the BBC property TV show as a desirable home.

But in the last year they say they have been plunged into a nightmare after a feud with their neighbour, who owns the freehold to the land their property was built on, that saw him cut off their access to power - making it impossible to live there - but also stopping them selling up so they can move on.

Peter Jennings, a millionaire who lets property to students, has refused to relent on his decision to cut their electricity supply - and their electricity company has repeatedly refused to override him.

Kevin, 58, who manufactures lenses for a local optician, told MailOnline: 'It has taken over our lives for such a long time. We are being held to ransom due to his greed and it's really hurt us financially.

'It's just constant, it's been non-stop. It's just constant stress and our blood pressure is up the whole time. We wouldn't wish this situation on our worst enemy.'

Julia, 59, added: 'We are stuck in a nightmare - we can't live in our house, no one else can either. Peter Jennings simply refuses to budge and the electricity company won't reinstall a power supply unless he relents.

'I am certain this was his plan from the beginning.'

The saga began in 2008 when they paid £38,000 to buy the semi-derelict building behind the grand Edwardian town house close to Salisbury cathedral where they owned two of four flats.

They spent a year and more than £100,000 removing the ruined original building and building a modern replica in its place, creating a smart two-bedroom self-contained home with open plan kitchen and luxury bathroom which is today thought to be worth around £300,000.

The original power supply to the Sheppards' coach house property from the main house was professionally upgraded with a new submeter installed inside a flat they owned to track usage.

In the years that followed they lived in the new house themselves and then let it to a tenant.

But in 2012 the owners of the other two flats sold up and the buyer was property magnate Mr Jennings then in December 2022 the Sheppards sold their two flats at auction with Jennings buying both, meaning he owned the whole building.

At this point the happy lives the Sheppards had enjoyed came to an end. The day after the sale went through, power to their property was cut off.

Since then, as the freeholder, Mr Jennings has prevented anybody from installing a mains connection to the Sheppards' property, arguing it would pass across his land so he has the right to refuse permission, the couple claim.

He is also said to have refused to allow them to pay him for electricity via the flat he now owns and refused five-figure cash offers to reconnect the power.

When the despairing couple eventually decided they could take no more they decided to cut their losses and sell the property it was featured on the BBC show as a desirable property in Wiltshire.

But at that point Mr Jennings put up posters around the property warning prospective buyers that it has no electricity and that they shouldn't get involved.

Last year the Sheppards sold the property for £277,000 at auction leaving the couple thinking their nightmare was finally over.

But despite having put down a 5 per cent deposit on the 'sold as seen' property, the buyer learned of the electricity row and decided to walk away and write off £13,850 rather than spend any more.

Kevin added: 'Every time we tried to sell the flats he would put a stop to it, we had been trying to sell for a few years and when they went to auction he got them for a lot less than they are worth.

'His ultimate goal now is to get our property for nothing. The day after the sale went through the power went out.

'It's not like it's in a field in the middle of nowhere, we're in the centre of town, we must be the only house in Salisbury with no mains electricity.

'He could flick it back on tomorrow if he wants to, but he has told us, 'there is no way I am ever going to let that house have electricity' so we are stuck paying the mortgage and all the bills on it but we can't live there ourselves, let it out or sell it.

'We just want SSE to install a power supply so we can sell up and move on.'

When the Sheppards asked energy company SSE to install their own cable to the house, Mr Jenkins allegedly told workmen that as he owns the freehold to the access road that this would need to be laid along that he had the power to refuse - which he did.

And despite the couple's insistence that this isn't legally sustainable the company has resisted all their appeals.

Left without power they spent £30,000 installing solar panelling on the roof as an alternative - but have found that it doesn't generate enough electricity in winter to allow the property to be habitable.

A spokesman for Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) said: 'Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has been aware of this situation since the residents concerned made contact with us several years ago with their request for a connection to our network.

'The property in question used to have access to a private electricity supply, and even before the arrangement which provided this came to an end, we have been open to facilitating a potential solution that's in the interests of all parties and that remains the case.'

Mr Jennings did not respond to requests for comment from MailOnline.