A MAN who moved to Bradford on Avon to start a new chapter in his life is now warring with his insurers after his garden collapsed without warning.

Father-of-two, Damien Weddell, 45, of Newtown had only moved in a week before a landslip which cost him three-quarters of his garden.

And when he got in touch with his insurance company, things went from bad to worse.

He said his dealings with the insurer have put him under so much stress he has woken up in cold sweats.

Mr Weddell said insurance giants Admiral first claimed the retaining wall was owned by Wiltshire Council and so was not covered by his policy.

“Somehow, something had gotten onto their systems that the council owned my property, and they didn’t bother to check that,” he said.

Admiral said they had advised Mr Weddell to establish ownership of the wall and that it was ‘mentioned this could be Wiltshire Council’ but denied telling him that as a fact. Luckily when his deeds were checked, they proved the wall was part of Mr Weddell’s property.

“Even before we get to the brass tacks of whether it’s covered or not, the level of service has been diabolic,” Mr Weddell said.

“Now all of the surveyors I come into contact with seem to think there’s going to be nothing to link this event to an insured cause under my policy.”

So far Admiral has sent out two different surveyors, neither of whom had specific engineering expertise, who both say the collapse was caused by accidental damage, which is not covered under Mr Weddell’s policy.

A third surveyor, who is an engineering expert, was due to visit the house yesterday (Thursday) to give his opinion.

Mr Weddell, who believes the collapse was caused by water soaking into the hillside during Storm Alex and over recent heavy rainfalls, is now warning other people whose homes and gardens are on sloping land to check their insurance policies carefully.

The insurer said that, after reviewing weather data ‘going back several weeks’ that there was nothing leading up to the collapse of the wall it would consider storm damage based on its criteria.

A spokesman for Admiral said: “Firstly, we’d like to say we’re sorry that Mr Weddell doesn’t feel we’ve investigated the damage to the collapsed wall thoroughly.

“He raised a complaint with us on 30 October and has been involved in ongoing discussions with the quality team in our claims department. They are still investigating his claim and his complaint.

“Once we have this report, we’ll be in a position to make a final decision and will let Mr Weddell know.

“However, if this third surveyor confirms the collapse was due to accidental damage then unfortunately Mr Weddell won’t be covered.”