A WOMAN who was evicted from her beach hut is delighted to have her personal belongings back - but is demanding the council returns her “mermaid haven”.
Michele Spicer, a retired teacher, bought her beach hut for £15,000 in April 2020 with inheritance money before moving down to Worthing from Oxfordshire a year later.
But the mother of two got into a row with people who lived in nearby flats about where she could park her car, with Michele adamant the “private” Waterfront car park in Goring was free for anybody.
She would not use the underground visitors' car park "due to her claustrophobia" and because she did not want to put her “flashy” Mercedes convertible in there.
Worthing Borough Council concluded it had to take action against her and she became the first person to be evicted from a hut in 25 years due to “the number of complaints” from people who live nearby. The hut was later removed.
Since being evicted on September 17 last year, she has been battling to get back her belongings, which she valued at £1,500.
She is delighted to now have them but said her “campaign for the vulnerable” is not yet finished.
The model still wants the council to give her a new beach hut on Goring seafront.
A council spokeswoman would not confirm whether Michele would be allowed to return to her former beach hut plot, but said a licence would be needed to get another hut.
Michele said: “I’m delighted to get them back, those belongings meant everything to me.
“I just want to get my life back. The beach hut is the main focus of my life. After going through six years of hell with a breakdown, trauma, divorce, it is the centre of my life.
“It was my foothold in Worthing from the start. Every single day I would go and hug my mermaid haven. It’s my life, my office, it’s my therapy.
“Me and my brother go there and speak to my parents up in the sky. Their ashes are in the sea. I just feel so happy there, I feel at peace with the world there. My dream has always been to have all the family and friends down here to enjoy it.”
Michele now cannot enter the car park after she was issued with a community protection warning and community protection notice for her “inappropriate behaviour”.
A letter to her from the council in June last year detailed her behaviour, which included “swearing” as well as “playing music excessively loud with the roof down” and continually “pressing your horn” while leaving the Waterfront residency.
Michele claimed these were “lies” and said she has “never had any confrontations”.
A spokeswoman for Worthing Borough Council said: “We are sorry it has come to this but for the first time in about 25 years we have had to take eviction action at one of our beach huts.
“The number of complaints received from local residents really left us with no choice but to conclude that Mrs Spicer has breached the terms of her licence.
“We have written to Mrs Spicer on several occasions regarding the collection of the beach hut and even extended the timeframe as a gesture of goodwill. To date, the beach hut remains uncollected.
“A licence is required to site a beach hut on council-owned land.”
Have you got a story for us? Email news@theargus.co.uk or contact us here.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.
Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.
You can also call us on 01273 021 400.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel