A MAN is being "threatened" by debt collectors for withholding council tax after his wall was damaged.

James Henville is currently locked in a dispute with Borough of Poole after the wall and electric gates at his home at St Aldhelm's Close were allegedly hit by a car turning round in the road.

He claims that motorists gridlocked the cul-de-sac amid the Lindsay Road closures for road works earlier this year.

He believes that a driver backed into his wall, causing large cracks to form, and damaged the electric gates.

Mr Henville, 53, also believes that it is the responsibility of Borough of Poole to compensate him for the damage caused as they commissioned the water board to carry out the works in the road causing the large amount of traffic to turn into his road.

As a result he refrained from paying one month of council tax.

But now he is being targeted by debt collectors, working on behalf of Borough of Poole, who are trying to charge Mr Henville £3,350 despite him only withholding £320.

"Borough of Poole are a law unto themselves," he told the Daily Echo. "I came back from a walk and there were these two huge cracks in the wall and my gates don't work.

"I called the council and they said 'we're not culpable'. No one has admitted responsibility. I withheld one month's council tax and within days I was threatened with a letter from a recovery company. The council should give you three warning letters and then take action. I had just one.

"Poole is adamant it has absolutely nothing to do with them. Their insurance company says they have thoroughly investigated it and on this occasion they say they won't be paying out."

Mr Henville believes the cost involved to fix the damaged wall and gates would cost at least £2,000.

"I'm waiting for debt collectors to knock on the door," he added. "I'm asking for something that's been damaged."

A spokesman for Borough of Poole said that anyone who deliberately withholds council tax is unable to pay in instalments.

"Borough of Poole does not accept liability for damage caused to property as a result of incidents on our highways," the spokesman said. "We acted responsibly by advising Bournemouth Water to close Lindsay Road due to a major mains water leak so that they could carry out repairs safely.

"Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, we do take any non payment of Council Tax seriously. If instalments are not paid a reminder is issued; continued non payment would result in the right to pay by instalments being withdrawn and a Final Notice issued for the whole amount due for the financial year. Continued non payment would result in a Summons being issued, then potentially go on to a Liability Order being issued by the Courts and potential enforcement action which attract costs. At all points in the recovery process the customer is encouraged to contact us if they are experiencing difficulty in making payments, with the aim of maximising their income/benefits and setting up an affordable repayment plan with minimum amount of costs."