Former helicopter pilot is arrested after spending four years barricaded inside a £500,000 farmhouse he lost in a divorce battle

  • Peter Elliott, 49, spent four years inside a farmhouse he lost in a divorce
  • His ex-wife got a court order in 2012 to force him out of the property
  • But he refused to leave and he has been arrested by police in Cumbria

By Abe Hawken For Mailonline

Published: 09:53 EST, 7 November 2016 | Updated: 15:40 EST, 7 November 2016

Peter Elliott (pictured) refused to leave his £500,000 property despite losing it in a divorce battle 

A former helicopter pilot who spent four years barricaded inside a farmhouse which he lost in a bitter divorce battle was today arrested by police. 

Peter Elliott, 49, transformed the £500,000 property in Appleby, Cumbria, into a fortress and surrounded it with barbed wire, tree branches and fitted CCTV cameras.

His ex-wife Leonie Butler, 45, obtained a court order in 2012 obliging him to leave Pinewood Farm following their bitter £6 million split.

However, he refused to vacate the property and insisted he would only be removed 'in a body bag'.

Appeal Court judges warned him in August that he will be forced to serve a six-month prison sentence unless he leaves.

But instead of moving out of the 70-acre property, Mr Elliott insisted he was not budging without a fight.

WARRANT OF COMMITTAL

A Warrant of Committal allows a magistrate of judge to enforce an order against someone who has so far refused to comply by a known court judgement.

The warrant often carried out by police forces expires two years after being issued. They are most commonly issued for unpaid council tax.

In his attempt to highlight his plight he created an effigy of a man dressed in a suit, representing himself, being hanged on the roof alongside a 'justice' banner.

But the High Court issued a committal warrant for his arrest and Cumbria Police today confirmed that they 'executed' the warrant.

Mr Elliott said at the time: 'I told the police I would keep a careful eye out for them, that I am determined to take my life before they arrest me, and that it is up to them what they do next.

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Mr Elliott (pictured) refused to vacate the property and insisted he would only be removed 'in a body bag'

Mr Elliott made an effigy of a man wearing a suit and attached it to his roof next to a 'justice' banner 

In his attempt to highlight his plight he created an effigy of a man dressed in a suit, representing himself (pictured)

'I don't want to die but I am content if that's what it's got to be. The farm is my life, it's my safe place.

'They're asking me to go on the streets. I have no home, no money, no family,no wife, no girlfriend and no horses. Nothing.

'I am not going to live in my car and I'm not going to Durham nick either. I am ready for them to try and get me.'

Cumbria Police have now confirmed that Peter Elliott was arrested on Monday morning. 

A spokesperson said: 'A committal warrant for the arrest of Peter Elliott, 49, was issued by The High Court.

'Police can confirm that they have now executed the warrant and that Elliott was arrested in the Appleby area this morning.'

He refused to leave the property and made an effigy of a man in a suit to represent himself (left). Mr Elliott said he would not leave the house after his divorce with ex-wife Leonie Butler (right) 

He transformed the £500,000 property in Appleby, Cumbria (pictured) into a fortress and surrounded it with barbed wire

Mr Elliott, 49, set fire to his car and a effigy of a man committing suicide today in protest of him being forced to leave his farmhouse after a divorce settlement

Mr Elliott previously worked as a pilot for Andrew Tinkler, the boss of infrastructure business Stobart.

He said he met Leonie in 1991 and married her in 1998 before they ended their relationship in 2010.  

She filed for divorce in 2012 and the sale of the house was supposed to be used to pay off their debts.

But a row blew up when he was ordered to leave the property. On one occasion he was evicted but broke back in within days. He has been living in the farmhouse ever since.

Mr Elliott insisted he would not move out of the 70-acre property (pictured) in Cumbria

The former helicopter pilot was photographed standing on the roof of the property next to a 'I want justice' homemade sign 

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