A woman who was sexually abused by her mother's partner for a decade has been forced to crowdfund as a judge ordered her to pay his £35,000 damages after he took her to court.

The Leeds county court ruling follows a dispute over the will left by Kirsty Easthorpe’s mother Irma Barnett that stated Arthur Hepple should be allowed to live in the home after her death for the rest of his life.

Ms Easthope, 52, has been told by a judge to pay her own and convicted serial sex offender Hepple's legal fees which are estimated to be around £100,000.

She has also been told to furnish the £300,000 bungalow she inherited from her mother for him at her own expense, before Hepple, 83, moves back in on January 23.

Mrs Barnett wrote the will in 2000 but died in 2013 aged 81 suffering from dementia and was unaware of the abuse, according to Ms Easthorpe, who has waived her right to anonymity.

Serial sex offender Hepple started abusing her in 2003, the same year Mrs Barnett was diagnosed with dementia.

After being abused for 10 years, Ms Easthorpe’s reported him to the police.

Hepple, who had no previous convictions, was given a suspended prison sentence in 2014 and put on the sex offenders’ register.

He was then put behind bars for another sex attack on a different woman and her teenage daughter in 2017.

But after being released from prison, Hepple insisted on returning to the former family home in York, which prompted a court battle.

Ms Easthorpe had rented the property out while he was in prison and Hepple contested his right to return to the detached bungalow when he was released from jail in October 2018.

The estate agent didn't allow him to re-enter and offered him alternative accommodation of three ground floor flats, which he refused.

But, after he took the case to court, a judge ruled in Hepple’s favour and Ms Easthorpe has had to evict her tenants.

And she faces a total bill of more than £100,000 after paying Hepple £35,000 in damages, around £25,000 in legal costs and her own fees of £40,000.

The court wants Ms Easthorpe to pay Hepple as soon as possible but one of her friends has set up a Go Fund Me page which she has said has just been 'amazing.'

Ms Easthorpe said: "People have just been so kind to me and I just want to thank everyone for their donations as I understand that people are struggling right now with the cost of living."

If she raises more than £100,000, she will donate the rest of the money to mental health charity Mind which she has said has helped her.

Yorkshire woman who was sexually abused by her mother's partner ordered to pay his £35,000 damages