£101m EuroMillions winners are at war with neighbours over ‘intrusive’ CCTV at their home

David and Angela Dawes won £101m on EuroMillions in 2011

A couple who won a £101million Euromillions jackpot have sparked a row with neighbours over ‘intrusive’ CCTV cameras installed after they were tied up and robbed by a gang during a raid at their home.  

David and Angela Dawes, who became Britain’s seventh biggest winners when they landed the top prize in 2011, put up seven cameras without permission at their mansion once owned in the 1960s by Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck.

A retrospective planning application lodged at the local council revealed that the couple wanted to beef up security after they were attacked by raiders at their sprawling estate.

David, 56, was struck in the face and he and Angela, 52, were bound using cable ties. The robbers fled with jewellery and around £20,000 cash in the couple’s Range Rover.

The car was found burnt out nearby after last April’s raid in Etchingham, East Sussex.  

Papers lodged at Rother district council reveal seven CCTV columns had been erected following a ‘burglary at the property’.

The columns also carried thermal imaging equipment and speakers to warn off trespassers. 

Police said the investigation was filed due to lack of evidence and three men who were arrested told they face no action. 

The couple are embroiled in a dispute with neighbours at the sprawling East Sussex estate they bought two years ago after they erected seven security cameras around the site and then applied for retrospective planning permission

The couple are embroiled in a dispute with neighbours at the sprawling East Sussex estate they bought two years ago after they erected seven security cameras around the site and then applied for retrospective planning permission

The couple installed the security monitors on the estate (above) - that was owned in the 1960s by Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck - after they were tied up and robbed during a terrifying burglary at the property back in April

The couple installed the security monitors on the estate (above) – that was owned in the 1960s by Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck – after they were tied up and robbed during a terrifying burglary at the property back in April

The robbers at the £4m estate (above) struck David, 56, in the face - then bound him and Angela using cable ties. The robbers fled with jewellery and around £20,000 cash in the couple's Range Rover, which was found burnt out several days later

The robbers at the £4m estate (above) struck David, 56, in the face – then bound him and Angela using cable ties. The robbers fled with jewellery and around £20,000 cash in the couple’s Range Rover, which was found burnt out several days later 

Documents lodged with council planners show the couple wanted to install close circuit television equipment (pictured) after a 'burglary at the property'

One neighbour who walksin the area of outstanding natural beauty alongside the property described the cameras (pictured) dotted around the site as 'intrusive'

Documents lodged with council planners show the couple wanted to install close circuit television equipment (pictured) after a ‘burglary at the property’. One neighbour who walks nearby described the cameras dotted around as ‘intrusive’ 

Now the couple face further anguish after half a dozen local residents objected to their bid to keep the CCTV cameras including thermal imaging and warning speakers at their six-bedroom manor house.

In a letter to the council, one wrote: ‘As a regular walker along the public footpath where these cameras are positioned, I find it intrusive and mildly threatening to be filmed whilst merely walking in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

David and Angela, originally from Wisbech, Cambs (seen in 2017) gave a third of their money away to friends and family

David and Angela, originally from Wisbech, Cambs (seen in 2017) gave a third of their money away to friends and family

‘As such, they are incongruous and completely unnecessary and should be removed immediately.’

A second objector wrote: ‘They are not in keeping with the Elizabethan manor house, giving an appearance that is more industrial in nature. The sound warning is both a nuisance and pollutes the tranquility and peace of the area.’

A third added: ‘These CCTV security pillars and cameras are unsightly and inappropriate for the landscape of an AONB. They compromise people’s privacy when walking on footpaths.’ 

But in one of four letters of support, one neighbour wrote: ‘My family and I wholeheartedly support the CCTV cameras. We have lived on the drive for a very long time and have never felt safer.

‘They are not intrusive and are a deterrent to the numerous thefts sadly happening in our area right now. We would be very disappointed if the cameras were taken down as we fully support the reasons why they were put up in the first place!

‘We shouldn’t have to go to extreme measures to protect ourselves but the world has changed and we must too!’

Another said: ‘We do not even notice them and quite frankly are very grateful that they are there. Everyone should have the right to feel safe in their own home.’

David and Angela, originally from Wisbech, Cambs, came up lucky on the lottery after just their third go and won the top prize in 2011. 

The couple, who gave away a third of their winnings, initially used some of their windfall to buy a £4.5million flat in Fulham, west London, close to his beloved Chelsea Football Club’s Stamford Bridge stadium.

But six years later they swapped London for the countryside where neighbours include ‘The Who’s’ Roger Daltrey. 

In 2018 they splashed out spent £4million on the sprawling manor house which boasts a swimming pool and sunken spa, cinema, tennis courts, stables and even an underground petrol station

In 2018 they splashed out spent £4million on the sprawling manor house which boasts a swimming pool and sunken spa, cinema, tennis courts, stables and even an underground petrol station

When the EuroMillions winners bought their home, the estate agent's brochure described it as 'a beautifully presented Grade II listed manor house with excellent leisure facilities in outstanding gardens and a magical setting overlooking its own valley'

When the EuroMillions winners bought their home, the estate agent’s brochure described it as ‘a beautifully presented Grade II listed manor house with excellent leisure facilities in outstanding gardens and a magical setting overlooking its own valley’

Set in 56 acres of land with stables, the six bedroom came with a reception hall, drawing room, study, dining room, a modern kitchen (pictured) a swimming pool (above), a pool house, a summer house, a spa bath and even its own private cinema

Set in 56 acres of land with stables, the six bedroom came with a reception hall, drawing room, study, dining room, a modern kitchen (pictured) a swimming pool (above), a pool house, a summer house, a spa bath and even its own private cinema

The £4million Grade II listed home boasts a swimming pool and sunken spa, cinema, tennis courts, stables and even an underground petrol station 

Three men were arrested following the burglary but were released without charge and told they would face no further action.

The spectacular win transformed David overnight from an industrious factory worker to a multi-millionaire who need never work again.

But in 2017 the couple were forced to go to court when his son – Afghanistan veteran Michael, 32 – accused his father of being ‘ungenerous in spirit’ after he cut him out of a will.

Judge Nigel Gerald ruled the father did not need to keep bailing out his son, who splashed £1.6million in two years, and came back for more – failing to heed his stepmother’s advice to stop eating at the Ritz and go to McDonald’s instead. 

The court heard Michael and his civil partner had not repaid the lotto winners’ generosity with gratitude and appeared to have ‘developed a sense of entitlement’.

The Dawes need consent for the cameras because their home (pictured) is Grade II listed and lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Planners at Rother District Council are expected to make a decision next month

The Dawes need consent for the cameras because their home (pictured) is Grade II listed and lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Planners at Rother District Council are expected to make a decision next month

Tensions between Michael and Angela came to a head at her birthday party in November 2013 when he turned up without a gift.

Asked why he failed to bring one, he said he bought flowers instead as he knew she loved them. And he told the court: ‘What do you give someone who has everything?’ Tempers flared during the party and father and son rowed about money.

Judge Gerald comprehensively dismissed Michael’s claim, ruling: ‘There was no basis on which any rational or normal human being could conclude that they could go back for more money whenever they wanted.’

The Dawes need consent for the cameras because their home is Grade II listed and lies in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Planners at Rother District Council are expected to make a decision next month.