A millionaire businessman, Mr Edward Haughey (now Lord Ballyedmond), was alleged in court yesterday to have ordered a man off disputed land adjoining his castle estate in Co Down.
The claim was made by Mr Guy Scott-Foxwell (54), who was brought up on the land in a cottage which is now derelict.
Mr Scott-Foxwell, who now lives at Mallaig, near Fortwilliam, Scotland, is suing Lord Ballyedmond and two of his companies for damages for trespass.
He has paper title to the site, which was said in court to be worth up to £300,000. However, Lord Ballyedmond claims he has acquired title to the property through adverse possession, the legal term for what is commonly known as squatters' title.
Mr Scott-Foxwell said the ordering-off incident occurred in 1998 when he returned for a day after hearing that there was activity around the cottage. "I never abandoned the place. I was brought up in the cottage, and I always loved it," he said.
Lord Ballyedmond said he believed the property had been left unattended, and he had put livestock on the land, a gate had been maintained and locked, a hedge cut and "No shooting" and "No trespassing" notices erected.
He said he had not made a conscious decision to acquire the property by adverse possession. "If someone had come along I would have tried to buy it."
Lord Justice Campbell is expected to reserve judgment on December 20th.