Mother and daughter in 30-year feud sparked by dog called Fluffy

Feud: Ann Hermsen-Wilkinson
Nev Ayling
Paul Cheston8 December 2015

A 30-year feud between a pensioner and her daughter which has come to a head over a £1 million flat was sparked by a dog called Fluffy, a court heard.

Caroline Hermsen says her 72-year-old mother, Ann Hermsen-Wilkinson, accused her of stealing Fluffy in the Eighties, which led to them falling out.

Now — long after Fluffy’s death — mother and daughter are still at loggerheads, this time over the flat in Courtfield Road, Kensington.

Ms Hermsen, an events manager, calls the property home and says her mother gave it to her almost 20 years ago. But Mrs Hermsen-Wilkinson says it has always been hers and wants her daughter out so she can live there herself.

As the accusations flew in court, Ms Hermsen’s lawyers described her mother “staying in bed and never seeing her off to school” when she was a young girl.

But the divorced property investor hit back at her “out of control” daughter by dismissing any bid to paint her as a bad mother as “simply ridiculous”.

Dispute: Caroline Hermsen
Nev Ayling

Paul Staddon, for the daughter, told the court the bad blood dated back three decades to when they were living as expats in Hong Kong.

He said the then-teenage Ms Hermsen was distraught when her mother reported her to the police for stealing Fluffy. Mrs Hermsen-Wilkinson flatly denied this and instead claimed she had alerted the authorities because she feared her daughter had gone missing and could be with a Triad gangster.

“I called the police to say my daughter was missing and I said our little dog was missing too,” she told Central London county court. “My concern wasn’t for the dog but for Caroline.”

But Mr Staddon said: “This incident was followed by you being very cross with Caroline and refusing to let her have access to her A-level materials?”

Mrs Hermsen-Wilkinson retorted: “It’s absurd to suggest that I would have done such a thing. I’ve always tried to explain to her how important education is, she’s a very bright girl and had a brilliant future ahead of her. She chose to go the way she wanted to go and she’s now living on benefits.”

The relationship hit rock bottom in 2005 when they had a row in the flat, the court heard. The mother, who was staying with her daughter, said: “Caroline barged into the lounge and began slamming doors and screaming at me.”

She said she took refuge in the bathroom: “I was just really upset because my daughter has an extremely violent temper.” Her lawyer, Tom Weeks, said the daughter had since “refused to allow her mother access to the flat”.

For almost 20 years Mrs Hermsen-Wilkinson has been living in Spain, but now wants to return to London. She is seeking possession of the flat from her daughter, who is adamant that her mother expressly bought it for her.

The divorcee, however, says she only allowed her daughter to settle in so that she would have a roof over her head. Judgment will be given at a later date.

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