The mobile home left for months in the lay-by on the outskirts of Winchelsea burnt down on Friday, July 4. Emergency services were called to the scene next to Winchelsea Lodge during the afternoon, with the abandoned home alight for several hours.
Smoke from the blaze was seen for miles. The wreckage is still in place in the layby.
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The mobile home used to belong to the Winchelsea Lodge but was sold to new owners three and a half months ago. The new owners failed to collect it from the layby on the A259.
Lee Stillwell, the owner of Winchelsea Lodge, says the mobile home was fully paid for by the new owners and is no longer his responsibility. "It's like when you sell a car and get a parking ticket from a few days after the sale. I've reported this to the council and police but no one has been interested in moving it."
He says his main worry was whether there was anyone inside the mobile home when it caught light. "There was a homeless lady who used it for a few days, but luckily she wasn't there during the fire."
Concerns were also raised that the fire could spread, damaging nearby fields an hedgerows.
Rother District Council says it has been working to move the mobile home. "Arrangements were being made with a local recovery operator to remove it however it has since been set on fire. We are now working with the same recovery operation to remove the remains."
