Evicted: A-listed Dunbartonshire castle valued at £3 million seized from owners

The owners of a £3 million castle have been evicted after following a decades-long court battle over a disputed business debt.

Sheriff officers took control of Knockderry Castle overlooking Loch Long at Cove, near Helensburgh, on Wednesday on behalf of trustees.

Businesswoman Marian van Overwaele, 71, was made bankrupt in 2000 after repeatedly refusing to pay a bill relating to a bridalwear business she ran in 1997.

Over the course of the subsequent 22 years, in which the parties involved each went to court several times, the debt rose to £30,000 and a bankruptcy trustee was appointed to take control of her assets.

Knockderry Castle overlooking Loch Long was seized by sheriff officers.

Mrs van Overwaele had fought various attempts to have her removed so the castle could be sold to pay her creditors.

She had transferred ownership of the castle to her brother, George Amil, after she was made bankrupt, and continued to live there with him and his family.

In January, Mrs van Overwaele lost a bid to take her case to the UK's highest court. It is understood that she was not there when the eviction took place.

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Mr Amil was at the A-listed castle making last-ditch calls to officials at the Court of Session in the minutes before the sheriff officers took over the property..

He told the BBC: “This is our house. I paid for it. I worked hard in this house. This decree is not against me.'”

Workmen are reported to have forced the door open before sheriff officers and two police officers went inside to remove the family.

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After Mr Amil left with his wife he told the BBC: “We just ended up homeless, I don't know where we are going to go now.

“It is a giant miscarriage of justice. We are going to keep fighting.”

Last July, the Court of Session upheld an earlier decision to allow the bankruptcy trustee to evict the family and take control of the castle. The law lords ruled against Mrs van Overwaele and her brother because they failed to attend court for the proceedings.

At a Court of Session hearing in January, Mrs van Overwaele was denied permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court in London where a panel of senior judges could have accepted or overturned the rulings made in Scotland.

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