Judges bemoan cost of boundary battles

Lord Justice Lloyd, introducing his judgment, said the case had "features in common" with many disputes between neighbours where the legal costs are disproportionate to the value of the land at stake.

William Steward put the value of the disputed land on the Isle of Wight at nil but had spent 120,000 fighting the case.

His neighbours, Harold and Victoria Gallop, had spent even more and agreed the land was "of very little commercial value".

In the second case, three appeal judges found for Gillian Hodgson, of Cornerstone near Barnard Castle in Co Durham, in her dispute with neighbours Ian Pennock and his wife, Diane, over ownership of a stream running between their properties.

Lord Justice Mummery said that such cases always cost a lot of money and usually generate a lot of ill-feeling that does not end the litigation.