neighbourhood on Tuesday when a chronically asthmatic woman stood head-to-head with heavy machinery poised to demolish her front yard.

Thirty-one-year-old Deananne Gibbons of 39 Borderline, Friswell Road, came home around 11 a.m. to find a front-end loader and a bobcat hard at work tearing down a three-foot embankment fronting the duplex where she and her two small children live.

The crews had been hired by property owner Eugene Wilkinson who has received planning permission to develop a grocery store at an adjoining structure.

Orders were to excavate a neighbouring embankment and Ms Gibbons' poured concrete front yard area to make way for a small roadside car park.

The problem is, said Ms Gibbons, no-one had notified her and the work would have left her with no way to get in her front door. In addition it was unclear if the property owner had received planning permission for the excavation work, as no construction permit numbers were posted at the site.

When Ms Gibbons contacted Mr. Wilkinson she was told it was none of her business: "He said it was his property and he could do what he wanted.'' In anger she called in the Police, The Royal Gazette , and the Department of Planning's Larry Dixon, who arrived on the scene and calmly assured Ms Gibbons the work would be stopped until the whole mess could be straightened out.

Ms Gibbons told The Royal Gazette that with the help of her boyfriend Noel Martin, she moved into the two-bedroom apartment in July. Despite payment of a deposit, her landlord has consistently refused to sign a lease with her.

To compound the confusion, in September she was hospitalised with severe asthma and has since been unable to work or pay rent. Mr. Martin meanwhile, has since left the Island: "He's irrelevant to all of this,'' said Ms Gibbons.

In the interim, an offer by Social Assistance to help out with her rent has been turned down by Mr. Wilkinson, she added. He also refuses to sign papers attesting to the fact that she resides on the property.

"Noel Martin is my tenant, I've got a gentleman's agreement with him and I can show you the receipts if you want,'' Mr. Wilkinson told The Royal Gazette .

And Mr. Wilkinson confirmed he refused to accept payment of Ms Gibbon's rent from Social Assistance: "I refuse to accept any money from her or for her.

Once I accept that she becomes my tenant, and I don't want that lady in my house.

"Noel Martin moved her in; I didn't want her in there from the beginning and she's very angry because of that.

"I've been waiting peacefully for the boyfriend to get back so we can straighten this whole mess out. I've been trying to keep it quiet because he's a married man,'' added Mr. Wilkinson.

A Bermudian, Mr. Martin left the Island in September. "He told me he was going to be gone a couple of weeks. He hasn't paid the rent in four months but said he would settle with me when he returned.'' Meanwhile Mr. Wilkinson said he was under no obligation to inform Ms Gibbons of the impending work: "Why should I let her know, she's no tenant of mine.'' He also said serving an eviction notice would have recognised her residency.

"I could've thrown her out -- but I was being decent enough to wait till after Christmas -- regardless of how rude she was being.'' Work meanwhile, has been halted on the excavation pending investigation by the Planning Department.