BBC Panorama claims Wyre Country Park "tricked" people into buying holiday caravans as full-time mobile homes

People are being tricked into buying homes on a Lancashire holiday park where they have no right to live permanently, claims an investigation by BBC One's Panorama which airs tonight.

Buyers claim they have been cheated out of their life savings after being falsely promised they could live full-time on the Wyre Country Park site, next to the River Wyre in Poulton.

An undercover BBC reporter secretly filmed one salesperson falsely claiming year-round living was permitted on the holiday site owned by David Welch.

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In the UK, more than 170,000 people are living permanently in mobile homes. The majority do so legally, as they are living on residential parks that have planning permission and residential licences.

However, thousands more people are thought to be living unofficially on holiday parks. It is usually a breach of planning laws for anyone to live full-time on a site that only has a holiday park licence.

Delivery driver Mike Chesworth, 59, said he found himself trapped in this situation when he bought a home on Wyre Country Park for £180,000.

According to Panorama, the contract Mike and his wife signed in 2019 states the caravan is for holiday use only. But the couple say site owner David Welch promised they could stay in the park all-year round.

He told the BBC: "It's heartbreaking, absolutely heartbreaking, and that's why I want to raise money, and that's why I want to fight these people, because they've got to be stopped."

Now they're stuck in a home where they are not supposed to live, reports BBC investigative reporter Rory Carson.

The couple say they were threatened with eviction after complaining to Mr Welch. They could also be evicted by the local council for breaching planning rules and the site owner could face enforcement action.

Panorama spoke to five other residents at Wyre Country Park who also said they had been falsely promised they could live on the site full-time by Mr Welch and then threatened with eviction when they later complained.

The BBC's undercover reporter was later taken round the park by the sales manager, who said most of the residents lived on site full-time.

"They've chosen probably, for this to be, potentially, their last home," she said. Even when the reporter raised the issue of the holiday licence, the sales manager still insisted people could live on the site 12 months a year.

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David Welch denies misleading buyers

Site owner David Welch denied misleading buyers when approached by Panorama, and said the site's signs and sales agreements clearly state that it is a holiday park.

"We have not received any formal complaints about how the park is managed. We totally reject any allegations of intimidation or threats to 'evict' holidaymakers," he said. Mr Welch and Wyre Country Park were approached for comment.

You can watch the Panaroma special, the Mobile Home Swindle, on BBC1 at 8pm tonight.

You can read the full BBC report here.