A reasonably unorthodox priest: Father sprinkles holy water over fence throughout bitter boundary dispute with neighbour over strip of land lower than a metre broad between their properties
A Russian Orthodox priest is locked in a bitter dispute with his neighbour over a narrow strip of land between their two homes – in an unholy row that has spiralled into accusations of intimidation, police involvement and an arrest.
Father Anatoli Vihrov is embroiled in an extraordinary feud with tax accountant Shamaem Burrows over who owns a wedge of land between their two homes in Guiseley, West Yorkshire.
The long-running dispute led to Ms Burrows being arrested and charged with damaging a garden bush – while both households have installed CCTV cameras trained on each other’s properties.
One of Ms Burrows’ cameras captured Father Vihrov appearing to sanctify the contested boundary fence with holy water on her driveway, while dressed in his religious robes.
At the heart of the bitter feud is a strip of land, around just a metre wide, which Ms Burrows claims the priest and his wife unlawfully took over while renovating their garden.
Ms Burrows installed a yellow guide wire between the two homes to show what she believes to be the correct boundary.
CCTV of Russian Orthodox priest Anatoli Vihrov sprinkling holy water over the contested boundary fence in what his wife called an act of peace
The priest bought his detached home for £470,000 in 2022 and soon undertook landscaping work which his neighbour Shamaem says has encroached on her property’s boundary
Ms Burrows, 45, says the area where the Vihrovs have laid their patio belongs to her – which is disputed by her neighbours. The row led to her being charged with damaging a garden bush
The priest’s house is on the left of the line while Ms Burrrows’s property is on the right. The feuding neighbours have been at loggerheads for four years with no end to the dispute in sight
The priest and his wife Elena, an NHS dentist, however, fiercely deny any land grab and claim the yellow guide wire put up by their neighbour is in the wrong place.
They insist a professional boundary survey proves that the vast majority of the strip rightfully belongs to them – and that Ms Burrows’ claims to the land’s ownership are false.
Both sides have reported each other to West Yorkshire Police and have instructed solicitors in a row that appears to have left no love lost.
CCTV footage shows Father Vihrov shaking the wooden fence between their homes, and holding a saw up to a camera; while further recordings appear to show the pair wrangling over the contested territory.
Ms Burrows told the Daily Mail: ‘He thinks he has got the right to just come into my garden and do whatever he wants.
‘He’s been shaking the fence. He’s coming around here in full robes throwing holy water on my driveway.
‘Because he is a priest, it’s like he is acting as if he is above me.
‘When the police go round to speak to him, guess what he does? He puts his gown straight on.
‘I’m here on my own with a young child, and I feel like I’m being harassed in my own home.’
In response, Mrs Vihrov insisted her husband blessed the boundary not to intimidate Ms Burrows – but in the hope of restoring peace.
‘We are Orthodox Christians, and we are proud of our faith. It is part of our beliefs,’ she said.
‘Yes, it was holy water. What is wrong with holy water? My husband was blessing that area for peace, to calm everything down and to leave everything in peace.’
The acrimony can be traced back to 2022, when the Vihrovs bought their detached 1960s property for £470,000.
Ms Burrows, who purchased her three-bed semi for £260,000 two years earlier in March 2020, claims the couple encroached on her land while carrying out extensive landscaping to their garden.
She alleges builders excavated a strip of ground beside her driveway and garage – leaving it without supporting foundations – before laying a new patio over land she insists belongs to her.
She claims to have 1974 title deeds that show the land is hers.
However, the Vihrovs insist those Land Registry deeds are simply illustrative and say a professional boundary survey that they paid thousands for proves the strip belongs to them.
The tense dispute reached boiling point in March this year when Ms Burrows was arrested on allegations of assault and harassment.
She was ‘thrown in a prison cell’ before being charged with criminal damage for allegedly damaging a bush belonging to the Vihrov.
When formally charged at Elland Road police station, documents show she responded by saying: ‘Damaged a bush? It’s on my land.’
The case proceeded to Leeds Magistrates’ Court last week but was discontinued at the last minute ‘due to insufficient evidence’.
Ms Burrows, who had spent seven months on bail, insisted that the case should never have been taken to court in the first place.
She said: ‘It is incredible the police and the CPS wasted all this money in taking me to court.
Ms Burrows claims the priest and his wife unlawfully took over the narrow strip of land while renovating their garden. CCTV footage show the neighbours shouting at each other
As the dispute has escalated, both households have installed CCTV cameras trained on each others’ properties. Ms Burrows has also put up a piece of yellow wire (pictured) which she claims marks her property
‘At no point did someone just take a look and think, “Why are we prosecuting someone for trimming a bush?”
‘I didn’t even go in to the courtroom. They decided it was completely ridiculous and not in the public interest.
‘But this whole thing has gone beyond an argument over a bush. It’s about my land and being able to live in my own house without feeling intimidated.
‘I just feel like nobody is listening to me because he is a priest. They automatically think that I must be the one in the wrong.’
Despite the collapse of the criminal case, there has been little sign of peace breaking out between the warring neighbours.
Ms Burrows claims she now lives under ‘constant surveillance’ from CCTV cameras pointed at her garden and dining room.
She said: ‘I have to live with my curtains closed. For more than a year now they’ve had cameras pointing towards my home.
‘There’s a camera that can see into my side garden, where my son plays, and another that can see into my house if the kitchen door is open.
‘We don’t even eat at the table any more, unless the curtains are closed, because of the camera.
‘I’m here on my own with a young child, and I feel like I’m being harassed in my own home.’
In a complaint to police, Ms Burrows, who was signed off work by a GP with ‘neighbour-related stress’, added: ‘This situation has had a profound and devastating impact on my mental health.
‘The ongoing surveillance, combined with the wider behaviour of the occupants of [next door] has caused extreme emotional distress, anxiety, and a level of depression I have never experienced before.
‘I have become withdrawn, disconnected from my child, and isolated from the world around me. I have been unable to sleep properly, suffering from persistent insomnia and overwhelming stress.’
In response, Mrs Vihrov insists her neighbour has installed 360-degree cameras overlooking their own property, including the family’s back garden, and caused issues for their own children.
She insisted the family had repeatedly sought a peaceful resolution through solicitors and had documentary evidence supporting their position.
She said: ‘Just because we are foreigners does not mean we have done something wrong.
‘From the very beginning, we have tried to follow the rules and the law, but it seems that no matter how much we try, it does not always work.
‘We have not done anything wrong, and we have evidence to prove that.
‘We are in a very difficult situation. We have tried to follow the law, and we will continue to be patient, peaceful and lawful until the end.’
Ms Burrows has made formal complaints to West Yorkshire Police following her arrest.
She said she hopes to take the dispute to the civil courts for a judge to make a definitive ruling on who the land belongs to.
She added: ‘They have funded two surveyor reports. The first of which I have never seen.
Father Vihrov insists a professional boundary survey proves that the vast majority of the strip rightfully belongs to them – and that it is Ms Burrows who is encroaching on their property
The priest’s dentist wife Elena told the Daily Mail: ‘From the very beginning, we have tried to follow the rules and the law, but it seems that no matter how much we try, it does not always work’
‘Neither are legally binding documents – just professional opinions. My suspicion is that they have paid for a second survey because the first didn’t say what they wanted it to.
‘They are only releasing the surveyors report which is more advantageous to themselves.
‘I have been unable to conduct my own surveyor report due to the land being blocked and having zero access.’
Ms Burrows alleged: ‘This has never been about an assault or harassment.
‘It’s about them stealing my land and knowing I don’t have the money to take them to court.’
Father Vihrov, who is originally from Estonia and ministers to Russian Orthodox congregations in Leeds, Bradford, Hull and York, said he had ‘nothing to hide’.
The couple later said in a statement: ‘We do not wish to discuss or provide the boundary report, or any other information relating to this matter.
‘Shamaem is free to do and say whatever she feels is right. That is her decision, and we will respect it.’
