WARNING: This article contains graphic imagesA former City investment banker who retired to the Algarve has described her years of hell after an 'aggressive' neighbour took over her land and drove her out of her home, forcing her to go into hiding.
Years of legal wrangling ensued, with a judge eventually siding with Ms Dargan and ordering the neighbour to return her land - which has still not happened more than a year on. Orla Dargan in Portugal with her rescue dog Henry, who she says was 'killed' amid an ongoing boundary disputeMs Dargan's dog Henry went missing and was found dead in a shallow well
When her neighbour first moved in, Ms Dargan claims his construction workers 'harrassed and intimidated' her, saying they threw rubbish into her property and urinated publicly in front of it. After she challenged him over the apparent land grab, she says he shouted at her and she ran back into her house, fearing he would turn to 'physical violence'.
Pictured: The sea view from Ms Dargan's property, which she says she has been unable to live at for more than a year due to renovation works and the alleged threat posed by her neighbourWhile they were living in a rented house in Faro, she said, the neighbour repeatedly trespassed on her land. Disturbingly, on the morning of one court appearance, in December 2022, Ms Dargan's two pet dogs went missing from her home.
Then, while she was living at a secret address over ongoing safety concerns last November, the beloved rescue dog named Henry went missing again. 'The tipping point was when I lost my dog last November. I was fighting on every front, but when that happened it broke me. He said for him and his sister, the experience of seeing their mother traumatised has been 'terrible'.