A MAN has challenged the army to help repair his roof after a tree on their land fell onto his home.

Strong winds blew the towering tree on to Stephen Rose's bungalow in February, resulting in his guttering and a section of roof being damaged.

The 53-year-old plumbing and heating engineer, of Broadway, Fulford, claims nobody has listened to his frequent cries for help since the tree fell from army-owned land onto his property.

York Press:

The tree hit Mr Rose's home earlier this year

The tree was removed, but Mr Rose has made three visits to Imphal Barracks and says he has only got as far as the Guard Room before he was given a phone number to call to settle the dispute.

He has spent the intervening three months urging officials from the army maintenance contractor CarillionAmey to fix his roof - and has enlisted the help of his ward councillor Cllr Keith Aspden - but is now resigned to repairing the damage himself and wants the military to pay for the materials.

He said: "The army doesn't want to know and my councillor can't sort it out.

"It's like David versus Goliath.

"The soldier who lives in the house has even tried to get it sorted out on my behalf but he can't get anything done.

"I feel like I'm being bullied but I can't get this sorted out."

The dad-of-one says an insurance claims will result in a £300 excess charge, but he is refusing to pay up until the army admits responsibility.

"I will fix this but all I want is paying by the army," he added.

"Everytime it rains it costs more damage to my bungalow.

"I shouldn't have to fix it but I'm trying to be decent about.

"I'm banging my head against a brick wall."

A spokesman for CarillionAmey said they removed the tree as part of their contract with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, but they do not carry out repairs or deal with claims.

He said: "The owner of the property has been advised, in writing, that should he wish to he would need to pursue any claim via the Ministry of Defence claims process. No further action was required by CarillionAmey.

"We can confirm that all planned inspections for trees in the area at that time were up to date."

A spokeswoman for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) said: "We are sorry that this problem has occurred and regret that it's taken longer to resolve than we would wish.

"Our contractor, CarillionAmey, has written to Mr Rose and we hope to conclude the matter as quickly as possible."