Lady Pea evicted from Broads home after bizarre housing saga

Patricia 'Lady Pea' Ramshaw has been living in The Old House in Ranworth for more than 18 months, after paying a year's rent upfront to the wealthy Cator Family - the property's owners.

However, she has been locked in a lengthy and bitter dispute with the family ever since, which still has court cases ongoing.

Lady Pea had moved into the property with more than 20 animals - some she shared the house with and others who live on the surrounding land - and the family accused her of breaching her tenancy agreement by bringing in her menagerie.

On Tuesday morning, Lady Pea, who works as a sex therapist, was formally evicted from the property, with the Cators taking vacant possession of the Victorian home.

She has now been given notice to remove the animals she had been keeping at the home - including sheep, a pig and horses.

Lady Pea said: "I have nowhere to go, nowhere to turn. I moved into the property in a vulnerable position. I am leaving in an even more vulnerable position than before I got here and the Cators know this."

Having been given a statutory two week's notice period, Lady Pea said officials had arrived at the property at 10am, giving her 10 minutes to leave.

She loaded as many of her belongings as she could into her car.

Arrangements will now have to be made to retrieve the rest of her possessions and move her remaining animals.

The saga began in November 2021, when Lady Pea paid a year's rent to the Cators to move into the period home.

However, she found the property "freezing cold", with no central heating installed and mould on the walls.

After highlighting her struggles with the Cators - including that the property had been rented without a valid energy certificate - it was originally agreed she would be refunded her rent and move out.

However, the family say Lady Pea did not agree to the terms and the arrangement collapsed, with the saga ending up with a property tribunal.

She argued the home had been rented to her unlawfully.

The family, in turn, accused her of subletting the property on AirBnB, painting walls in iron grey and bringing in animals in "huge proportions".

During the highly contentious tribunal, several extraordinary allegations were made.

Revelations included that Jane Cator, a deputy lieutenant of Norfolk, had spied on Lady Pea from a nearby church tower.

Mrs Cator said she had seen a pig from the watchpoint and denied that she was spying on her tenant.

During the same hearing, Mrs Cator accused Lady Pea's pig of destroying the property's garden.

The tribunal also heard Lady Pea had not paid rent for 12 months.

It ruled in favour of the Cators, with a judge criticising both sides for how the case unfolded.

Judge Stephen Evans said: "These proceedings provide a salutary lesson for those prospective landlords and tenants who embark on entering into a tenancy without defining the ambit of the demise, and without agreeing all relevant terms of the tenancy before occupation is taken up."

Months later, the case was up in court again, with Lady Pea attempting to appeal against her pending eviction.

However, her appeal was thrown out by a judge because papers Lady Pea had submitted to the court "went missing", following an apparent mix-up by officials.

The same papers would later be sent to the sex therapist after being located - alongside several sensitive, confidential documents relating to different cases. 

The data breach is currently being investigated by the courts.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the controversial property was vacant, save for the animals still occupying the land.

A High Court writ of possession is now displayed on a gate at the property in the picturesque Broads village.

It reads: "Please note we have taken possession of the above-mentioned property

"Any attempt of re-entry of the said property is an offence and proceedings will be taken for trespass and criminal damage." 

The Cators declined to comment.