Sonia McColl, OBE, who heads the Justice for Park Homeowners campaign has had her mobile home stolen.
The 40ft long, 10-ton mobile home was stolen from a yard in Cullumpton, in Devon just as Sonia MColl was due to have it delivered today and move in.
“I was forced to sell my home due to death threats as I would not abandon the Park Homeowners Justice campaign,” claims Sonia McColl. The mobile home is a Stately Albion Chatsworth Silver and its theft has been reported to the police.
UPDATE: November 29 2017: The Sun has now reported this story:
Widow’s horror after thieves steal her entire MOTOR HOME
A WIDOW has had her £30,000 motor home stolen, left with just the curtains she was hoping to install in her new home. Sonia McColl, 70, said she had been left feeling vulnerable after finding out the new home she had purchased had been nicked from a haulage company’s yard, with the 10-tonne home, sitting on a 40ft trailer, disappearing without a trace.
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Park homes campaigner given OBE
A WAREHAM woman whose campaign laid the foundations for new laws to safeguard park home owners’ rights has been awarded an OBE. Sonia McColl founded the Park Home Owners Justice Campaign four years ago, in a quest to close a contentious legal loophole that had been allowing rogue park home site operators to snap up residents’ homes at a fraction of their true value.
“I bought a new home from the proceeds and was having it moved to a new location. Now I am homeless because the thieves have stolen all that I have.”
Other park homeowners are convinced the theft was motivated and that Sonia McColl was targeted by her numerous enemies.
Park Home Owners Justice Campaign
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Leaseholders are used to white collar professional bullies in the property tribunal; park homeowners have that and far, far worse in disputes with site owners, who are often closely linked families from the travelling community.
Campaigner who sought justice for park home owners to deliver new petition to Number 10
THE Wareham woman whose campaign laid the foundations for new laws to safeguard park home owners’ rights is set to march on Downing Street again. Sonia McColl, will be joined by supporters including Mid Dorset and North Poole Lib Dem MP Annette Brooke, to deliver a new petition to Number 10 in July.
Sonia McColl’s son David Randall says: “My mother has fought so hard to help and assist the lives of thousands of park homeowners.
“During the last year my mother has had to sell her home to escape death threats delivered to her front door. After selling her home and re-locating to a completely new and undisclosed location, she has now had her new home stolen from her while waiting delivery.
“It is stretching credulity to believe that this is just a piece of bad luck. I am sure that this is a planned form of revenge.”
“My mother is now homeless and minus a whole lot of money.
“My mother is an OBE and she deserves this as she worked hard to help others like her and also those much less fortunate.
“This has culminated in her now suffering total loss of everything.
“To see her totally destroyed after all that she has given … in my opinion, no, it was most definitely not worth it!”
In the summer, Sonia McColl delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street and held a conference at Portcullis House, the offices of MPs.
Her meeting was addressed by both Sir Peter Bottomley and Sebastian O’Kelly, trustee of LKP.
Mr O’Kelly said: “This theft is outrageous. Many disputes in park homes go way beyond even the abuses leasehold flat owners experience. Like other leaseholders, park home owners own their pitch on a lease, and numerous games are played at their expense.
“We have too few resources to help park home owners very much, but at least we did something so Tony Turner, whose life was being turned upside down:
Park home champion faces ruin over £44,000 libel dispute – Better Retirement Housing
A blogger and champion of pensioners living in park homes is facing bankruptcy proceedings next month after a £44,000 libel dispute. Tony Turner, 71, published a website highlighting what he saw as abuses at 17 sites across the West Country owned by JB and J Small Park Homes.
Sir Peter Bottomley also named park home site owner Barry Weir in the Commons on October 18 along with Roger Southam, the controversial LEASE chairman, and Dudley Joiner.
Dudley Joiner and Barry Weir named in Commons … and Roger Southam invited to retire
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LKP prods media to cover theft of Sonia McColl OBE’s park home
Appeal: Home for Sonia McColl OBE
APPG to protect park home owners has as secretariat the site owners’ own trade body!
Views of Tory MP Crispin Blunt: Government should ‘nullify’ ground rents. End ‘feudal’ leasehold. Bring in commonhold. And stop developers’ and solicitors’ ‘unconscionable’ cheating of the naïve
I am an admirer of ascetics, the Amish, and the Jains. I like minimalism and simplicity, hate materialism and disavow obsessive ownership of things.
All of forty years ago and looking for somewhere to live I investigated living on a residential mobile home site – the middle way between a tent in the woods and a detached house in suburbia.
I made an appointment with a woman looking to sell her mobile home. I can’t recall the detail, but can recall feeling uneasy status wise – site fees, ground rent, and other factors which indicate site owners dominance. Walking away, but still on site, a guy stopped to chat, he was damning of the site owner and talked of him doctoring electricity meters (strictly against the law) among other things. He suggested I go and have chat with him. “He is in his office now,” pointing the way.
My chat with the site owner started off well when I revealed I had worked in shipping offices. He had, too, and he knew many of the bosses I had worked for.
Things soon went downhill when I started asking questions and he could see from my facial expressions I wasn’t happy with his answers.
One stand out memory, there was talk of the law and lawyers, and I – in all my innocence – said: “One only goes to law when all else has failed, reasonable people do not go to law.”
There was a look of incredulity on the site owners face. “Err, yeh, that is right.”
The reality of course was he wasn’t a reasonable man and he was cosy with some crooked solicitor, and used him at every opportunity.
I do know mobile home owners were in a bad situation then, and knowing how things work now, not a lot would have changed.
Good that LKP is trying to help these people as well.
I hope Police are looking for such a large item and on the motorways in Europe, , Has any similar item been seen on the Cross Channel or North Sea ferries ?
Does the mobile home fit inside a 40 ft container ?
Any updates on this? The police showed any interest? My sympathies to this lady, of course thats how these people operate, when they can no longer intimidate with dodgy legal arguments they turn to more classic methods, showing their true self.
The local MP ( Annette Brooke ?) should be more involved in search for stolen home and make
statements to National Papers to raise awareness for country wide search .