A LANDLORD claims he and his wife are the victims of a hate campaign by a tenant they are attempting to evict.

Geoff and Chris Day say next door neighbour Michael Boomer owes around �1,000 in rent and refuses them access to the house in Creek Road, March, to make improvements.

They served him with a two-month notice to quit but that has expired. Mr and Mrs Day say they have no option but to take legal action to force Mr Boomer to leave.

Mrs Day, 64, a chronic asthmatic, says her health is deteriorating rapidly because of the dispute. She said: “We are at our wits end and I spend all day howling. I just don’t know what to do.”

Mr Boomer contacted the Cambs Times about his squalid living conditions and the refusal of Mr Day to carry out work. But Mr Day says a personal disagreement has led to the campaign to blacken his name and says there have been nine hate letters.

Mr Day, who was holidaying in Norfolk when the story appeared, said: “There is so much hatred coming from him we feel uncomfortable in our own home. We have bought a motor home to escape from him and that has been our saviour.

“He has blackened our name and this is nothing to do with the property, it is just a hate campaign.

“We would never force a frail pensioner to live in a bad situation. We have Fenland District Council saying they will serve notice on us if we don’t carry out repairs and him saying we cannot go into the property.

“We have only known for two weeks what the council require us to do. We will be appealing against some of it and some of the work we have agreed to do.

“I fully accept that some of the work has got to be done but this is a 200-year-old property and that has got to be taken into consideration.”

Mr Day, 70, says he thought he was being a friend to former colleague Mr Boomer when he offered him the accommodation four years ago. The two men worked together at Pilgrims Garage in March.

Mr Day bought new bedding, a bedroom carpet and paint of his choice. He said: “He came to us in a very distressed state saying he had nowhere to stay. I think he had been sleeping in a car.”

However, Mr Day does admit that Mr Boomer has asked him about making improvements. He said: “I can’t say it wasn’t mentioned that things needed to be done but he seemed quite happy.”

Commenting on photographs in the Cambs Times, he said he accepted the stair carpet was ready for replacing but added: “He refuses to clean the house and for �55 a week he cannot expect us to provide a cleaner.

“We have never asked him for extra rent and we are not asking for the rent he owes. If we don’t take legal action to get him out he will be there until we die.”

Mr Boomer denied he owed �1,000 but admitted he was about �300 in arrears.

He said he was withholding the payment until the work was completed. In the meantime, he was looking for alternative accommodation.

He also denied his letters were sent as part of a hate �campaign but in response to letters �following their disagreement.