A former electrician has been branded 'the neighbour from hell' after he transformed his £750,000 home in a leafy south London sub...
A former electrician has been branded 'the neighbour from hell' after he transformed his £750,000 home in a leafy south London suburb into an 'eyesore' shrine to Extinction Rebellion.
Paul Barrett has enraged his neighbours by turning his three-bedroom semi into a rainbow house, erecting a giant 12-foot robot made from plastic bottles and installing multi-coloured rocks in the front garden.
A broken fridge has been converted into a letter box while roof tiles have been painted different colours leaving residents worried about the value of their homes.
Mr Barratt has dug a 15 feet deep tunnel in the front garden and was also excavating a large hole in the middle of the lawn in the back garden.
Paul Barrett, a former electrician and a supporter of Extinction Rebellion has angered neighbours by turning the home he inherited from his parents into a shrine to climate change
Residents living in the leafy street in Carshalton, south London, have labelled Mr Barrett's home an 'eyesore' after he decorated the front garden with rocks painted multi colours
The front garden of Mr Barrett's home is also decorated with Extinction Rebellion signage (left) and what looks like an old fridge has been turned into a makeshift letterbox (right)
'It's awful to look at and just brings down the whole area down,' raged a neighbour. 'Why has he done this?
'I have children and I no longer feel safe for them as so many people, many of them undesirable, are hanging round the house. It is awful.'
The 'nightmare neighbour', a Liverpool fan who inherited the property after the death of his parents over a decade ago, began the bizarre alterations in the summer.
An unnamed friend who emerged from the house said the owner was a supporter of Extinction Rebellion had attended their most recent protests in London.
Paul Barrett lives at the property - that was owned by his parents - with a homeless man
'I wouldn't call him an activist but he is a big supporter,' said the friend. 'He didn't get arrested or anything like that but went along to the demos to observe.
'I'm homeless and he has been letting me live here. It's just me and him.'
A large banner with the word 'Rebellion' spelled out in plastic bottles has been draped over the front windows and several tons of earth have been piled in the front garden.
Residents were fuming when Mr Barrett built the giant robot made from empty egg boxes, milk cartons and bottles of squash.
A front wall looks more like a piece of Lego with the bricks painted red, purple, yellow and green.
As well as numerous XR flags adorning the front of the property, a 'Happy November' placard had been stuck into the mound of earth that is kept in place on one side by three large wooden railway sleepers.
Police have visited the house due to excessive noise complaints, according to neighbours.
Environmental Health officers from Sutton Council have also been at the property following complaints.
Loud, repetitive music was played during the summer when residents had their own windows open and the noise kept them awake at night they said.
'He used to have a sound bar at the front of the house and music would be blaring out. He had his own playlist and it would be the same songs from the 90s and a lot of Michael Jackson.
Neighbours down the road are up in arms about how Mr Barrett has chosen to decorate his property (pictured) to help raise awareness of the environment
One resident said people living there are worried about house prices and how the values of their homes will be affected by what Mr Barrett has done to his home
A homeless man, who declined to give his name, said Mr Barrett had let him stay at the property while he gets back on his feet. He was pictured yesterday leaving for the Job Centre
Environmental officers and the police have been called to the property, particularly during the summer months, after receiving complaints about loud music being played late into the night
'He played the music mostly during the school run to attract the attention of children and would use chalk to write on the pavement and put handprints on the trees.'
'It was very annoying. After a visit from the council he took away the sound bar. But then he just played music loud with the windows open.
'The house is an eyesore and is attracting attention all the time. People are stopping to take photos and it is just dragging the whole area down.
'It's pathetic but there is nothing we can do,' said another neighbour. 'I have complained to the council but he has not broken any planning laws and they cannot make him remove any of the rubbish.'
Mr Barrett's next-door neighbour 88-year-old Colin Richardson said he had no complaints abut noise – but admitted the house was a mess.
'I've lived here since 1966 and Paul has been a neighbour for many, many years, said Mr Robertson
'To be honest I have not had any trouble from him, but the house does look a mess. I haven't got clue what Extinction Rebellion is all about but it would be nice if he made it tidier.'
Another neighbour said he was planning to put his house on the market but feared prospective buyers would be off.
'We are selling up, but not because of what he has done. It doesn't look pretty and I know he has upset a lot of neighbours.'
A photo of the house taken before the drastic alterations shows how much it has changed.
While other similar properties have wooden decorative beams painted black, Barrett's are in a bright green.
The rear of the property is in an equally poor state with a large hole dug in the middle of the lawn.
Mr Barrett has posted various photos on Facebook of his renovations to the property (above) including a 15 feet deep tunnel in the front garden and a large hole dug in the back lawn
One riled neighbour shared the sentiments of many residents living nearby and fumed: 'It's awful to look at and just brings down the whole area down. Why has he done this?'
Mr Barrett's Facebook page is full of protesters marching through London earlier this year where they caused chaos and disruption.
Meanwhile XR supporters could be able to claim compensation from the Met Police after the High Court today ruled the force's ban on London protests was unlawful.
XR brought a judicial review after police in the capital imposed a London-wide protest ban during their autumn uprising last month.
The group said the decision made criminals of people who wanted to raise awareness to what they have termed a climate and ecological emergency.
XR's lawyers said the Met now faces claims for false imprisonment from 'potentially hundreds' of protesters who were arrested after the ban was imposed.
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