British pensioner ordered to quit half his house

LONDON (AFP) - A British pensioner vowed to sit tight after being ordered by a court to quit half of his house under the terms of an unusual 19th century lease.

Derrick Bensted, 77, vowed to "stick it out" after complaining that the order -- which would see him lose his kitchen, bedroom and half his sitting room -- was unfair.

The dispute is centred around the lease under which Bensted's home in Whitstable, on the southeast coast of England, was first built.

Half the former pub was constructed in around 1860 on land rented from the Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company, and the company has been fighting to reclaim what it considers its share of the property.

A six-month deadline for Bensted to leave following a court ruling against him expired on Tuesday.

"I am going to stick it out here and see what happens. I feel that they were wrong in making the judgment," said Bensted, a former taxi driver, who claims he would also lose his central heating under the partition.

James Green, development manager for the Oyster company, said the company part-owned dozens of houses in Whitstable and had come to amicable agreements with other co-owners.

The firm had offered to buy Bensted's half of the property for 80,000 pounds (120,000 euros, 150,000 dollars) and in return had received a counter-bid for the opposite half of just 14,000 pounds.

"It really is up to Mr Bensted, the ball is in his court. It has been going on now for eight years," Green said.

"If you are a public company then you have an obligation to shareholders to get the best value, you can't just give it away."