A PENSIONER whose home was demolished by Fife Council more than two years ago has received a bill from the local authority to cover the cost.

Bridget Rush, from the village of Glencraig, said yesterday she was astonished by the demand which arrived at her sheltered accommodation.

The 80-year-old fought a bitter battle with the council for several years in an attempt to save Largo Cottages, which had fallen into ruin.

Miss Rush, known as Biddy to her friends, insisted she was happy to live out the rest of her days there and just wanted to be left in peace.

However, the council reckoned the property was unsafe and took Miss Rush to court in an attempt to force her out, saying it was acting in her best interests.

There were holes in the roof, the ceilings were in danger of caving in, the property was riddled with damp and most of the floorboards and fittings had collapsed.

She slept on an old mattress propped up by newspapers.

Her only source of heat was an open coal fire, which she also cooked on.

The council won the hearing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

In spite of the ruling by Sheriff Isabella McColl, Miss Rush held out for a few more years.

She was evicted in July of 2004 and set up home in a caravan next to the cottages.

At the 11th hour it looked as though the property would be saved when a firm of builders offered to do the building up at no charge to Miss Rush. The plan came unstuck when the pensioner refused to sign over the title deeds to a charity.

Several weeks later the cottages were burned to the ground in a suspicious fire.

Within days the council appointed a contractor to clear the site, and what was left of Miss Rush’s home was razed.

That was the last she expected to hear from the council.

She went to live in a homeless hostel in Kirkcaldy before ending up at Den Court sheltered housing complex in Cardenden.

She said the bill for £6690.20 came as a huge shock.

“It’s an immoral decision because I had nothing to do with the fire. It was vandals who did it,” she said.

Miss Rush said the letter from the council had stirred up a lot of bad memories.

“Someone told me I should never have taken the council on because they would crucify me, and he was absolutely right,” she added.

Miss Rush insisted she had no intention of paying the bill and she would go to court again if need be.

“I won’t give in, not as long as I have got a breath in my body,” she said.

“Why should I have to pay for the vandalism? That’s nothing to do with me. I don’t owe them anything.”

John Mills, the council’s senior housing manager, confirmed the authority was seeking recovery of the costs involved in demolishing Miss Rush’s house, pointing out that it had become unsafe.

“Legally we are entitled to recover these costs from the owner of the property and the ground on which the property was situated,” he said.

Head of local services Graeme McRoberts added, “It would not be right that the council tax payer should assume responsibility for what is essentially a private ownership matter.”