Leeds dad who knocked down half a semi and moved abroad tells his side

Chris Rhodes, 47, pulled down his side of the semi-detached property in Pudsey, making his neighbour's house unsellable

A dad-of-four who knocked down his half of a Leeds semi insists he isn't the bad guy.

Chris Rhodes, 47, pulled down his side of the semi-detached property in Pudsey, leaving neighbour Shivarna Mitra, 44, living beside a pile of rubble in a home she says is riddled with damp and mould and is now unsellable.

But Mr Rhodes, who has since left the UK, has defended his actions and blamed both Ms Mitra and Leeds City Council for making the situation worse.

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: "There were very unfortunate circumstances that cost my wife and I a significant amount of money and stress also." He added that those circumstances "created a bad situation of which I tried to work with all parties concerned at every point to resolve", but said he could not say the same about his former neighbour.

Ms Mitra, who lives at the property with her young son and elderly mum, has previously described the past four years as a "nightmare". She bought her three-bed home in May 2021 for £217,000 after saving for years, then spent around £80,000 on renovations, including a £35,000 garden and a new kitchen.

She has said holes left in her walls and roof let in rain, rats, squirrels and wasps, with rats chewing through wires and leaving the house needing a full rewire. She also revealed she had been through cancer and a major operation during the dispute, saying: "Instead of recovering, I'm fighting battles from my hospital bed on emails."

Mr Rhodes, a self-employed carpenter, bought the neighbouring house in July 2022 for £280,000. He secured planning permission for two extensions that summer and work started in October 2022.

Ms Mitra claims he used the planning approvals as cover to demolish the house, which he denies. She contacted the council in January 2023, claiming the work breached planning consent.

Mr Rhodes says a storm left the gable wall unsafe and that, following Health and Safety Executive guidance, he took it down along with the front wall. He told MailOnline: "I had a discussion with the HSE and it was agreed [that pulling the wall down] was necessary and the correct course of action to avoid any risk or danger to others and their properties."

The council issued a stop notice in May 2023, which he says he complied with in full. He said a planning enforcement officer told him he should have applied to demolish, adding: "This goes against what the Health and Safety Executive said and I had an obligation, both legally and morally to immediately make things safe.

"I accepted that there would be planning ramifications at this point but the number one priority is safety."

Mr Rhodes then needed permission for a brand new house. He claims the council ignored him for months after he applied, saying: "I received zero response from my many answer machine messages and emails." That application was refused, but a second one for a five-bedroom home was approved in May 2024.

The house was never built. Mr Rhodes sold the plot with planning permission earlier this year for £115,000, saying he did not want his family "exposed to all the nastiness". He claims Ms Mitra tried to block the rebuild at every turn and questioned why she would oppose it if the empty plot was such a problem.

He also denies Ms Mitra's claim that he was aggressive towards her, telling MailOnline: "This did not happen and I was in no way, shape or form, aggressive with her." He alleged she was abusive towards his builders and called the fire brigade over fires that did not exist. Ms Mitra denies being abusive or aggressive.

Mr Rhodes also denies his builders damaged her home. He said: "We did not touch her roof as is shown in the videos and images. We left approximately two feet of our roof so as to protect the top of the wall from direct weather."

A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: "The building was subsequently taken down by the owner without the necessary Council permissions being in place. The owner was advised by Leeds City Council to submit a Section 80 Demolition Notice but did not do so."

The council said Building Control officers later found the neighbouring property "remained structurally stable" and recommended weatherproofing the exposed party wall. It added: "As these are privately owned properties, the council advised Ms Mitra to contact her house insurer and take legal advice. The council will continue to monitor the site and take any appropriate action as necessary."

An HSE spokesperson said the regulator visited the site once the property had already been demolished and gave verbal advice on scaffolding and site security, adding: "At the time of the HSE interactions there were no breaches of health and safety legislation that required formal enforcement."

Ms Mitra's insurer has brought a legal claim, which she says is still around two years from reaching court.