A MOTHER claims that a property developer “stole” half her garden while she was at work.

Amber Addison, who says that she bought the show apartment, in Marchwood Close, Blackrod, because it had a fenced-off neat small garden, with a lawn, patio and row of shrubs, is now seeking legal advice.

The 40-year-old admin assistant bought two apartments from Wainhomes as a rental investment and says that she paid £5,000 extra to have the garden. Last Tuesday — six months after she bought the property—she says she discovered that contractors for Wainhomes had moved the boundary fence and effectively halved her garden.

They have also removed the row of shrubs and plants, leaving Mrs Addison distraught.

She believes Wainhomes removed about a foot from her garden to create access for a recently-sold property.

The mum-of-two said: “When I contacted Wainhomes, they have said to me that they have no obligation to write to me and that they can do this without prior warning.

“They are saying this land doesn’t belong to me in the first place, and that there was an error when the garden was laid out.

“I think they should have given me some notification.

“If they have made a mistake then they should have written to me telling me what they have done.

“Whatever the outcome of this boundary dispute, I still feel that a letter should have been sent to me warning me of the impending changes with an explanation and legal documentation.” Mrs Addison’s tenant, who asked not to be named, was woken by the noise of the contractors moving the fence.

He says he only chose the apartment because of the garden.

Mrs Addison, who has contacted a solicitor, said: “I’m not a property tycoon, I am just a normal person. “I have got a loan and I have bought these properties so that I can build a better life for my family.

“I am disgusted by what has happened.”

Steve Toghill, managing director of Wainhomes North West, said he had no comment to make.