Homeowners in the Wrythe ward, near Carshalton, say they are being 'bullied' into selling their homes to Sutton Council.

They tell their stories below...

Adrian and Marian Martell


4, Green Wrythe Crescent

Adrian,64, a former Timber yard manager.
Marian, 65, was a former nurse at St Helier Hospital.

Your Local Guardian: Adrian Marian Martell, Green Wrythe Crescent "We have been here over 20 years, we have spent our entire married life here and our kids have grown up here. This is our home.

"We have had enough of the council trying to bully us.

"They tried to do the same thing 20 years ago and they pulled out. If they do it again, we will sue them.

"They can't hold our lives in their hands any more, we have bought this place fair and square.

"We don't think we can fight to keep our home, but the least they can do is offer us a fair price for it.

"We are getting on a bit now, and we are set on getting a park home in Kent to spend the rest of our days there, but for what they are looking at offering, we would be living there in a cardboard box.

"They are messing us about no end."

  • House has been independent valued at £180,000. Offered £140,000 by Sutton Council in January.

Tony Ford and Heather Brocklehurst


5, Green Wrythe Crescent

Tony, 78, a former engineer
Heather, 82, a former nursery nurse

Your Local Guardian: Tony Ford Heather Brocklehurst "We are being forced out, it's as simple as that.

"We do not want to move. When we bought this place under the Right to Buy scheme, it was a big step for us, we had enough money in the bank and we decide to buy it, we thought it would be the last house we would ever buy.

"We were former tenants and we knew the place wasn't perfect, but it's ours and they have no right to take it away.

"We can't cope with all this. They are playing with our lives and our emotions.

"We need to be living in this area, we have relatives who can look after us as we get older within a few hundred yards.

"We have to be here, and a similar house is going to cost about £220,000."

  • Offered £146,000 by Sutton Council. Valued between £180,000 and £190,000.

Ron Nash and Doris Bennett


6, Green Wrythe Crescent

Ron, 69, used to work for Glass company Greenbergs
Doris used to work in the canteen at BASF

Your Local Guardian: Ron Nash Doris Bennett Ron: "I have lived here since I was five years old and I am 70 this year. All my memories are in this house.

"I bought the home for my mum under the Right to Buy scheme.

"When we got the letter through the post to say they wanted to buy the house back I was shocked. I couldn't understand what they were doing. But they are not going to stop until they get these houses.

"We are resigned to the fact we have to sell up now.

"We want to move to Sussex where my Sons are. At the moment we can't plan for anything, we are being kept completely in the dark.

"We have had one offer and it was pittance. I'm usually growing vegetables this time of year, but we don't know when the bulldozers are coming so what's the point."

  • Offered £140,000 by Sutton Council. Valued at £180,000.

Corinne Thwaites, 28


7, Green Wrythe Crescent

Your Local Guardian: Corinne Thwaites "This was my parents' house and I have inherited it from them.

"They have both died in the past five years, so it has been a pretty horrible time to be honest, and this home is all I have left of them.

"All I can remember is in this house, and it has seen six children grow up in it. We all have wonderful memories here.

"I found out from a neighbouring tenant the houses were going to be demolished. They didn't have the decency to tell the home-owners first, the people who rent found out weeks before.

"I was gutted when I found out about it, and how they have treated us is disgusting. They want to kick us out of our homes and save themselves a load of money in the process.

"Well, they are going to have a fight to get me out."

  • Sutton Council yet to make an offer. House valued at between £180,000 and £190,000.

Linda and Michael Parker


52, Fellowes Road

Linda is a former nanny
David is a refuse collector for Merton Council.

Your Local Guardian: Linda Michael Parker "We have been in this house for 34 years.

"Our kids have grown up here and have since left and started families of their own. We do not want to go anywhere.

"The government encouraged us to buy this house back in the 70s, and we were just trying to better ourselves by getting on the ladder.

"We have done that, and now they are pulling the rug from underneath us. It's shocking what they are doing.

"We should not have to move, this is our home which we have worked all our lives to pay for, and now it's ours.

"They seem to be offering about half of what we need to buy a similar sized property in this area.

"We should not have to move out of the borough.

"My husband is near retirement, he can't just leave his job. This is too much."

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