A great-grandfather who has been the victim of nearly 250 crimes since a traveller camp was opened next to his home is facing jail after refusing to pay his council tax for the past nine years.
Bruce Charter claims his life has been 'not worth living' since the council set up the 16 pitches in 1997 without informing him in advance.
Since then he has endured 249 offences - including three burglaries a week on average at one point.
With his five-bedroom Band D home left worthless by the crime wave, he started withholding council tax payments in 2000 and owes £9,495.
He is now being dragged to court after ignoring 172 bailiff's letters but yesterday vowed he would 'serve time' before settling the debt.
'It's like a war zone. We don't enjoy our lives - they've been made a misery at best and a living hell at worst,' said the 62-year-old, who lives in Earith, Cambridgeshire, with his partner, Rita Redfern, 64.


Facing jail: Bruce Charter claims his life has been 'not worth living'
'Our home is now our prison, so if they want to send me to jail, so be it. But I will never pay.
'I'm not a law-breaker and I'm not fiddling my benefit, yet they treat me like dirt and ignore my rights.'
The couple bought a derelict Victorian property set in two acres of land beside the River Ouse in 1982 for £20,500.
They spent £100,000 on renovations, as well as building a workshop in an outbuilding and a granny annexe, upon which they have also been refusing to pay the Band A council tax.
In 1994, East Cambridgeshire District Council bought a neighbouring residential caravan site and three years later turned it into an official travellers' site with 16 pitches.
The first theft was in 1999, when a lawnmower was taken. That year alone there were 119 offences.
Since then Mr Charter has kept a log of each crime, including the theft of a £500 generator and 2,000 roof tiles. The couple are also regularly terrorised, with their windows being pelted with rocks.
He has stopped reporting most crimes after police failed to make a single arrest but still keeps his daily log.
He and Miss Redfern, who recently had major surgery for a cyst on her brain, have not taken a single holiday since the travellers arrived for fear they would return home to find it stripped bare.


Traveller camp: Mr Charter claims people living there have committed 250 crimes

Mr Charter, who has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, has also banned all relatives under the age of 12 from visiting as he fears for their safety.
He added: 'There's no point owning anything as the travellers will nick it. I've bricked up the windows to stop them entering.'
The council was found guilty of maladministration and causing injustice by the Local Government Ombudsman in 2001. It was ordered to pay Mr Charter £500 and said it would look for a way to resolve his problems.
But no solution had been found by 2005 and he sued the council for causing a nuisance and negligence.
The following year he and a former neighbour received an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.
In the meantime, he has continued refusing to pay his council tax. The only time it was paid was in 2000 when the funds were provided by an anonymous donor.
He has now received a summons to appear before Huntingdton County Court. A date is expected to be set early this year.
Mr Charter's solicitor, Kathy Yates, is currently investigating issuing further legal proceedings on the grounds that his house has not regained its market value, currently estimated to be £500,000.
She said the council should have informed him about its plans for the travellers' site - but the only record it holds documenting its efforts to consult him is the entry of his name on a list with a question mark beside it.
'Morally it was their duty to tell Mr Charter in person or put a note through his door. They must have known the site would blight Mr Charter.
'I would like to see the council buy this house. It's the only sensible solution.'

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