A rundown house which plagued a businessman's last years has been reduced to rubble within days of his death from cancer.

Mystery surrounds the levelling of Southfields, the 300-year-old listed building in which well-known coach boss John Sykes was born - but whoever demolished it could face legal action if planning officials track them down.

Friends and relatives of Mr Sykes said they were baffled but delighted to discover the ruins of the Appleton Roebuck house Mr Sykes inherited 20 years ago.

He had long sought to demolish the Grade II listed building because he could not afford the £200,000 needed to restore it.

One family friend believes the house was destroyed as a mark of respect for Mr Sykes, the 59-year-old owner of coach firm GE Sykes & Son, who died peacefully surrounded by his family at St Leonard's Hospice, York.

Friend and former employee Syd Winterburn gave a whoop of joy when he returned to the village the day after Mr Sykes's death to see the pile of rubble where the former manor house had stood.

"God moves in mysterious ways," he said. "Whoever did it deserves a medal.

"That house had caused John hassle throughout his illness and it was a fitting tribute to see it pulled down."

Mr Sykes's planning battle over Southfields went on for years.

After he failed to sell it, he demolished the rear wing without permission, prompting Selby District Council to apply for a compulsory purchase order which Mr Sykes complained was taking too long.

The house was again at the centre of controversy in December when it caught fire but stayed standing.

Finally, his coffin was carried past the rubble of the house in tribute to his battle to get it all knocked down.

Selby District Council's principal planning officer Richard Burrows confirmed he is in consultation with district solicitors about whether to pursue legal action.

He said: "I believe there is not a great deal left of the building, but at this stage I do not know what will happen.

"We applied for a compulsory purchase order in May, which is time-consuming and expensive and it does not seem relevant now.

"Someone is guilty of a criminal act and it is open to the council and other parties to seek a prosecution. I have no evidence thus far as to who has carried out the damage and no decision has been made about the demolished building."

Mr Sykes's bus company is being run by his widow, Margaret, and other family members.

Mrs Sykes said: "He was a wonderful man - that goes without saying. We are going to carry on the business as he would have wanted it."

He leaves his children Lynsay and Ben, his stepchildren Julie and Michael, and four sisters Beatrice, Susan, Ruth and Jennifer.

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