The owner of a £4million Chelsea mansion has been ordered to remove Japanese knotweed from his garden after it became a rat-infested 'jungle' and made neighbouring houses unsellable.

Residents living next door to 144 Ifield Road have engaged in a prolonged war against their neighbour, claiming the house is 'rotting from the inside out' and has become home to multiple pests.

Several years ago, a rotting corpse was found in the basement after residents complained about a smell, while leaking drains previously turned the inside into a swamp.  

Now, Kensington and Chelsea council has moved to force Nicholas Halbritter to confront long-running issues at his property in west London by handing him a Section 215 order.

This is a legal power enabling local planning authorities to compel owners to tidy up land or buildings that adversely affect local amenity. 

It comes after 46 neighbours signed a petition urging the council to take action.

Residents on Ifield Road - where homes have sold for more than £3million - have laid bare the long list of issues plaguing number 144 for years.

At a meeting of the council's planning applications committee earlier this month, lead petitioner Nik Hoexter said: 'There's rampant knotweed, there's rats, foxes, there's a mosquito swarm from a leaking mains, which has been going on for two years.

'The decomposing remains of the last basement resident were removed, the windows to the street are blacked out, and to the rear vegetation is growing into the house from broken windows.' 

To summarise, Mr Hoexter said 'the house is rotting from the inside out'.

Councillors voted to serve the Section 215 notice despite a report recommending no action be taken as officers assessed there had been 'no significant harm to the area'.

Speaking in favour of issuing the notice despite the recommendation, Councillor Marie-Therese Rossi said: 'Surely common sense must prevail.

'Direct action is needed, and this council must now act in the interest of its long-suffering residents.'

Mr Hoexter called on the council to take stronger action to enter the property and undertake the work itself under Section 219 of the Act.

He added: 'The owner is Nicholas Halbritter - a former Conservative councillor, and he was actually on this committee.

'We think it's time now to take action under Section 219.

'As Marie-Therese has pointed out, there's no point in trying to correspond with him.

'You frankly have to do the work and bill him.

'He otherwise ignores everything.'

Another resident and owner claimed Mr Halbritter 'slams the door in my face' whenever she tries to speak with him about the state of his garden.

Mr Halbritter was previously investigated by neighbouring borough Hammersmith and Fulham, under an agreement between three councils to share resources.

A Section 215 notice was issued, and the owner was prosecuted the following year for failing to comply.

Council officers say the garden was cleared by November 2017, so the notice was considered 'complied with'.

A Kensington and Chelsea council spokesperson said: 'Following the decision of the Planning Applications Committee, we are proceeding with a Section 215 notice and will progress it in line with the legislation and relevant guidance.

'The 2016 notice - which was investigated by a Hammersmith & Fulham officer under a bi-borough working arrangement at the time - was considered complied with and the enforcement case was closed.'