Norway man sawed neighbour's house in half
A man in Norway faces up to six years in jail after he sawed his neighbour's outhouse in two on the grounds that part of it jutted over onto his land.
Arne Vigeland hired two workmen, who used crowbars, hammers and saws to sever the part of the building that rested on the disputed territory. He then dumped the rubble from the demolition onto his neighbours' vegetable patch.
Wenche and Roger Waage, who owned the building, were on holiday in Spain at the time of the attack last year in April, reported Vigeland to the police, and he was this week charged with aggravated vandalism.
The outhouse, that mainly contained tools, stood on a hill on the tiny island of Nesøya, known for having a number of celebrities and members of the Norwegian financial elite among its residents.
Immediately after the incident, Vigeland claimed that the destruction of his neighbour's property was legal, as he owned the land.
"I reduced it (the outhouse) to a legal size, so the law is on my side. That's my reason. There was a case about this is 1981, and it was final. The boundaries were clear, but Waage has extended his property after the ruling," Vigeland told Norway's VG newspaper.
In separate incidents, Vigeland has demolished another neighbours 70-year-old stone wall, claiming that it was on his property. He also sawed down several trees and bushes.
Shortly after the demolition, however, the border dispute was brought a civil court, which ruled that Vigeland did not in fact own the land on which the outhouse stood.
"The court believes that Vigeland does not own the area where the cut house stood, unlike what Vigeland has claimed," Sverre Olav Skogrand, the lawyer representing Wencke and Roger Waage told the local Budstikka newspaper.
If Vigeland is found guilty of vandalism, he may face a fine, or up to six years in prison.
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Arne Vigeland hired two workmen, who used crowbars, hammers and saws to sever the part of the building that rested on the disputed territory. He then dumped the rubble from the demolition onto his neighbours' vegetable patch.
Wenche and Roger Waage, who owned the building, were on holiday in Spain at the time of the attack last year in April, reported Vigeland to the police, and he was this week charged with aggravated vandalism.
The outhouse, that mainly contained tools, stood on a hill on the tiny island of Nesøya, known for having a number of celebrities and members of the Norwegian financial elite among its residents.
Immediately after the incident, Vigeland claimed that the destruction of his neighbour's property was legal, as he owned the land.
"The court believes that Vigeland does not own the area where the cut house stood, unlike what Vigeland has claimed," Sverre Olav Skogrand, the lawyer representing Wencke and Roger Waage told the local Budstikka newspaper.
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