Bank's second bid to repossess home succeeds

A CO Laois man at the centre of a previous failed attempt to repossess his house, which became a YouTube hit, has had his property repossessed.

Lee Wellstead (47), of Mountrath, Co Laois, returned to his 19th-century stone farmhouse on four acres last Wednesday to find the locks had been changed.

An attempt on February 20th by Ulster Bank to repossess the house was successfully resisted by Mr Wellstead and supporters.

The confrontation between supporters and the sheriff was filmed and has had over 310,000 views on YouTube.

Mr Wellstead’s case has been taken up by a number of TDs, activists and organisations – including United Left Alliance TDs Joan Collins and Clare Daly and the Defend Our Home League.

Speaking outside Ulster Bank in O’Connell Street yesterday, Mr Wellstead said he had kept up repayments of €700 a month until July 2006.

“Eighteen days after I missed a payment, the bank foreclosed on us.”

He said he had made numerous efforts to engage with the bank and at one stage found a buyer willing to pay €80,000 for an acre of the land around the house.

“The bank wouldn’t allow the sale to go through. They have refused to send me the documents I need and we have been in and out of court.”

Dermot Connolly of the Defend Our Home League said the organisation was hearing from homeowners “up and down the country being put under serious pressure by the banks”.

Ms Collins said she and Ms Daly had sought a meeting with Ulster Bank about the issue. “It is immoral what is happening at the moment,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Ulster Bank said: “Ulster Bank encourages customers who are experiencing financial difficulty to contact us as soon as possible.

“We have a specialist team who are working with our customers who find themselves in financial difficulty to find suitable, mutually acceptable solutions.”