A PENSIONER today (Tuesday, October 7) barricaded himself in to stop bailiffs taking his vast collection of vintage farm machinery and evicting him from his home.

John Petch - known as "Husky" - has housed his collection in the derelict buildings in Dormanstown, Redcar, for the last 15 years, but now faces eviction.

Yesterday (Monday, October 6) he tied himself to the fence and refused to leave the property as High Court Sheriffs threatened to remove him by force.

They eventually left at about 5.30pm last (Monday) night without forcefully removing him - and had still not returned today (Tuesday).

This morning (Tuesday) Mr Petch set his alarm for 6am, was delivered a breakfast by wellwishers from a nearby burger van, and barricaded himself in to stop sheriffs gaining entry.

He said: "I'm staying here and I'm not going anywhere. I've put some stuff up against the fence now so they'll have to barge their way in."

Mr Petch was initially offered the premises by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council after the garden of his home, on The Green nearby, became filled with vintage agricultural machinery and he was banned from keeping it there. He moved into a caravan on the site to keep an eye on his collection and has lived there ever since.

Now the council say Mr Petch has allowed the buildings to fall into further disrepair and they want to evict him.

Norman Pickthall, cabinet member for corporate resources, said the council had a court order for possession of the site but the Sheriff's Office suspended action on Monday due to the stand-off.

He said: "We will still be seeking possession of the site and this will be the subject of the discussions with the Sheriff's Office in due course. This action is a last resort after all previous attempts to reach an agreed resolution failed.

“Significant efforts have been made to resolve the situation amicably over a prolonged period of time and Mr Petch has had more than two years to find alternative accommodation.

“Regrettably, he has refused to honour his previous agreements, with both the court and the council, to vacate the site voluntarily.

“The site is being illegally occupied and the buildings have fallen into a state of disrepair, making it dangerous and unsuitable for occupation."

The council said it had offered him other accommodation but Mr Petch said he would have to pay up to £90,000 a year in business rates for it, which he could not afford.