IT's a nightmare that could affect countless home owners. The small print in the legal documents of a property purchase

Twenty-five years ago a new development was built at the former Marston's brewery site in Winchester city centre.

Many resident would have been unaware that they were liable for the maintenance of the historic wall that run along North Walls.

A quarter of a century down the line the residents have had to cough up around £250,000 for the wall to be rebuilt.

READ MORE HERE: Work completed on repairing historic wall

The work has lasted four months and seen major disruption to traffic flows on North Walls as the builders needed to use part of the carriageway for scaffolding.

It followed a 15-year legal tussle with local authorities and heritage agencies.

It shows the importance of being fully aware of your liabilities when making a property purchase. But the Chronicle also salutes the residents, featured on the front page, for shouldering that burden and restoring an important piece of the city history. Most of the wall dates from the 19th century but it runs along the line of the defensive ramparts that protected the city from Roman times through the Middle Ages.