Pensioner refused to move for Wales' new £2bn road

PICTURES show a new £2bn road that curves past a man’s home after he refused to have it knocked down - but did lose his beloved garden.

- HOWARD LLOYD

John Watkeys, 75, was initially told that officials would not need any of his land or house of 65 years to build the Heads of the Valleys road. But they later changed their minds, saying they needed to demolish his garden and some of his home in Merthyr Tydfil.

The Welsh Government offered to compulsory purchase the property, but former microbiologist and keen gardener John refused.

However, he has lost a third of his garden to the road scheme - where he grew fruit and veg and a beloved oak tree he used to sit under to watch bats.

The 28-mile road now snakes around his house, not through it, and he’s been left with a massive wall at the end of his garden.

The Heads of the Valleys road officially opened last Thursday after 23 years of roadworks and a £2bn spend.

John says he used to love sitting in his garden at night, which then sat next to the relatively small A465.

He said: “The whole process has been upsetting. It’s been stressful. I’m left picking up the pieces. It has been extremely stressful for a lot of years.