A VERNHAM Dean mother says that she feels like a prisoner in her own home because of a busy footpath running past their garden – two metres from their front door.

Sophie Scarlett says that her family cannot fully enjoy their Woodside Cottages home because of the intrusion from walkers, and Hampshire County Council (HCC) have said that it would cost them £3,000 to get the path diverted.

The receptionist and her husband Sam began renting the property, which forms part of the Conholt Estate, seven years ago.

A former pub, the house has been converted into two properties backing onto each other and their garden is a small, grassed area at the front of the property.

They were informed about the footpath when viewing the property but the estate agent told them it was a quiet path when, in fact, it is a popular walking route that appears in national walking books.

The couple also found that the path attracts parties of schoolchildren, scouts and Duke of Edinburgh participants. They first looked into getting it diverted several years ago but HCC told them that it would cost them between £3,000 and £5,000 to make the application with no guarantee of success.

Since giving birth to nine-week-old Jackson, the issues of privacy and safety have become more pressing but, once again, HCC say that they would have to pay £3,000 to apply for a diversion and they are not in a position to move.

“Because it is a public right of way anyone could be walking past our garden,” the 28-year-old said. “Now that we’ve got a little one, it’s not safe.

“You can’t relax in the garden, you are always waiting to be disturbed. If I let the dogs out they get very agitated when people are walking past. I have heard people say, ‘Why don’t they put the dogs out the back’ – we don’t have a back. It makes you feel judged in your own home so I choose to stay inside.

“On a sunny afternoon we can have three or four cars parked outside with families of walkers,” she continued. “There are always loose dogs and we find poo in the driveway. There have been people knocking on the door as well asking if this is the footpath.”

The couple have paid for a fence to be erected and they have also asked their landlord whether they could move the garden to the side of the house where they currently park their car but it is not possible because of their gas supply.

Mrs Scarlett continued: “It may not sound important to other people, but if you ask them if they would want someone walking through their garden when they are relaxing having a cup of tea or a glass of wine, they probably don’t. It doesn’t feel like a home because we can’t enjoy it properly.”

The footpath runs along the field opposite the house, coming out onto the road and then walkers have to turn right and walk along the road a small way before reaching the path. The new mother has identified a possible diversion route along a no through road opposite where the footpath meets the road and into the field where the footpath currently runs but they cannot afford to pay £3,000.

“Looking at the other route it just seems like common sense to me,” she added.

A Hampshire County Council spokesperson said: “The route in question is a long standing public right of way which has remained unchanged since it was originally recorded on the definitive map in 1953. Processing an application to divert legally recorded public rights of way requires an extensive consultation followed by a lengthy process. Accordingly, the fee for processing such applications covers advertising, administrative costs and officer time incurred by the County Council.

“We have not yet received a diversion application in relation to this case, but officers would visit the site to assess and offer advice if, and when, one was to be submitted.”