A MAN who has defied bailiffs by barricading himself inside his home with his 80-year-old mother fears they will both be sent to jail.

Nick Markos believes Southend County Court has issued a warrant ordering police to arrest him and his mother, Milica Markos, following a 14-month eviction battle.

The 48-year-old has locked himself inside the four-bedroom house in Glenbervie Drive, Leigh, since it was sold last year to cover the legal bill of a separate dispute between Mrs Markos and her neighbour.

Now he fears his persistence has landed both him and his mother with a 14-day prison sentence for refusing to let in the bailiffs.

Mr Markos said: “I have been told by the court that they have issued an arrest warrant and they’ll be coming to get us both.

“I don’t know how they can do that when my mother hasn’t even appeared in court. It’s just not right.”

The start of the eviction battle dates back to 1999, when Mrs Markos took her former neighbour, Alan Goodfellow, to court because he had encroached on her land.

Mr Goodfellow had demolished a fence and built a concrete drive which took up three inches of her property.

Despite winning her court case, Mrs Markos was not happy with the damages awarded to her and appealed on more than 30 occasions, leaving her with a crippling legal bill of tens of thousands of pounds.

Her home was sold for £170,000 at auction last summer to cover the costs, but Mrs Markos and her son refused to move out.

Their stubbornness has sparked several stand-offs with bailiffs and police. A fresh eviction attempt is believed to be scheduled for 10am on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Court Service said she was unable to confirm whether an arrest warrant had been issued because the eviction was a private matter.

A spokeswoman for Essex Police also refused to confirm whether a warrant existed.