A PENSIONER has told of his upset after a council started selling his lifetime’s collection of metal and machinery without telling him.

Redcar man John Petch, 67, known locally as Husky, lost a two-year legal battle with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to store thousands of items of machinery at his property.

The retired steelworker was evicted the former council depot on The Green, Dormanstown, Redcar, where he had been living, last November but still hoped to find a home for his collection which he says is worth at least £250,000.

Mr Petch argued that one of his supporters, Bradley Knight, had been told by Redcar and Cleveland borough councillor, Sabrina Thomson, that the machinery and farm vehicles would not be sold in a recorded telephone conversation.

He also claimed he had won legal assurances from the courts that his property could not be sold.

However, he says that the first he knew the council advertised the property for sale was when he has been contacted by fellow traders who have arranged inspections of his property. Some have already had a look at the collection and Mr Petch believes prices have been agreed.

He said: “This just shows that the council cannot be trusted. They have gone back on their word.

“It is sentimental and emotional for me. Some of it I’ve had since I was a kid. Some of it was my father’s and my mother’s. Every bit of it has a value to me. It might look like scrap to others, but it isn’t. What looks like a hunk of rust can still be returned to working order.

“How would you like a total stranger poking around your property? Putting a value to things that are yours? It’s distressing and intrusive. It’s just not right.”

A spokesman for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: “Since the election, Sabrina Thompson is no longer a councillor for this authority. In any event, it is clear from the recording provided that this is a personal conversation which simply involves Ms Thompson discussing her understanding of the current position to one of Mr Petch’s ‘advisers’, and that she is not acting on behalf of the council in relation to the ongoing legal issues.

“The council obtained a court order for possession of this land, with which Mr Petch has persistently failed to comply. There have already been significant delays in clearing the site caused by Mr Petch’s failed legal challenges and, accordingly, there has never been any agreement for the sale and removal of these items to be placed on hold."