A MAN was left bewildered when an eviction notice was put on a bench he placed outside his property.

Steve Owens, of Vale Close, decided to put a small bench in the communal area of his property for he and his neighbours to use.

However, his plan was thwarted when a “ridiculous” eviction notice was left on it meaning he’d have to take it away.

Bournemouth Echo:

“I’m at the end of the property the furthest away from anyone,” he told the Daily Echo.

“We have a small communal area, which I have decorated with flowers and a small two-seater bench outside my property and yesterday I found an eviction notice on it.

“I’ve left the notice on the bench, and everyone has been taking photos of it because it’s so ridiculous.

“It’s a two-seater bench that someone could pick up with one hand. I was only trying to make the communal area look nice, it’s ludicrous.”

The notice on the bench said: “You have failed to remove this item from the communal areas of the property as required.

“PHP (Poole Housing Partnership) on behalf of the council will remove this item from the property if you have not removed it.”

Mr Owens added: “I spoke with the housing manager and his problem was the fact it was attached to the wall, but if that’s the case then he needs to go around and remove lots of things including all the hanging flower baskets.

“The reason I attached it to the wall is because sometimes unadmirable people walk past and I don’t want it to get nicked.

“I am a disabled man, sometimes I have bad days and I can’t walk very far, and I want to go sit on it, especially in the hot weather.”

A BCP Council spokesperson said: “The bench in question was placed in the communal grounds without permission. It has been removed, but no eviction notice has been served in relation to this issue.

 “BCP has provided wooden benches elsewhere in the communal grounds at Vale Close to facilitate the mixing and socialising of tenants.”