AN elderly couple were facing homelessness last night after being given an eviction notice following a row over bird feeding.

Marilyn Brown and partner David Brookes have been told they have six weeks to leave the almshouse in Kidlington in which they expected to spend their final days.

The couple, both in their 60s, claimed they were being thrown out because church trustees accused them of causing a rat infestation by feeding birds.

They are seeking compensation of more than £60,000 from the trustees of the Lady Ann Morton Almshouses for work they carried out to improve the property.

Ms Brown, 64, said: “The trustees have stated very clearly on many occasions they are evicting us because we have attracted an infestation of rats by our bird feeding, but we have overwhelming evidence to show that this is not true.

“We’ve had four pest control surveys carried out in the almshouse garden over the past year and they have never found any sign of an infestation.”

The trustees last night said they regretted having to take the action.

Mr Brookes, 61, had carried out plumbing and heating work for the village’s St Mary’s Church for more than 25 years when the trustees of the almshouses offered him the chance to convert two bedsits into a cottage.

Ms Brown said: “They asked David if he could do the conversion for £9,500 and said if he did, we could live in it afterwards.

“We thought this would be brilliant and then asked the question if they would mind if we contributed some of our savings, so that we could do a more deluxe conversion.”

They became licensees of the property in 2004 and paid £300 a month in rent.

But she claims their relationship with the trustees soured over the next 18 months resulting in them being threatened with eviction if they continued feeding the birds.

She added: “Nowhere in our letter of appointment does it say that bird feeding is banned. The letter specifically states that ‘good cause’ can lead to eviction – since when has bird feeding been a good cause?”

Earlier this month, Judge Christopher Compson, sitting at Oxford County Court, granted a possession order for the property, but also ordered both parties to undergo mediation to try to resolve the dispute. The couple was told the order would come into effect on December 8.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Oxford said the almshouses were run by a charity, which was not part of the church. However, the rector or the churchwarden at St Mary’s has always been the chairman of the trustees.

In a statement released through the diocese, the Rev Canon Anthony Ellis, team rector of Kidlington with Hampton Poyle, said: “We deeply regret having to take this action. We don’t feel it’s appropriate to comment further.”