Alan Butler outside his Wootton Bassett home which he says he will have to sell to raise the £44,525 compensationA FAVOUR turned sour when a man lost an eye after part of his conservatory fell on him as a neighbour helped him put it up.

Now Raymond James has won compensation from his next-door neighbour and friend who was helping him build it.

Father-of-three Alan Butler will have to sell his house to fund the £44,525 damages bill to Mr James after yesterday's Appeal Court ruling against the uninsured labourer.

Mr Butler, 34, says his family has been devastated by the news.

And the unique case could have wide-ranging implications on those who agree to lend a hand in return for a small cash payment.

The court heard that Mr Butler, who worked in the building trade, agreed to help construct Mr James's conservatory at his home at Tinkers Field, Wootton Bassett, for five days for £300.

But on March 10, 2000, a rafter from the structure hit Mr James in the face shortly after Mr Butler thought he had screwed it into place by hand.

Last year at Taunton County Court a judge ruled that, although Mr Butler owed Mr James 'a duty of care', he could not be held responsible for what happened.

Yesterday Mr James' legal team successfully appealed against the decision. Lady Justice Smith, who heard the case with Lord Justice Rix and Lord Justice Sedley, said it was not reasonable for Mr Butler to have believed the rafter was securely in place.

"The act of inserting and finger-turning the screw is so simple it falls well within the capability of all but the most inexperienced of handymen," concluded Lady Justice Smith.

"There was no evidence with which Mr Butler's error could be excused by reasonableness."

The judge added that Mr James, 63, who moved to Weymouth after the incident, had gone to make a cup of coffee shortly before the accident, and as he re-entered the conservatory looked up at Mr Butler who was on a ladder.

It was then he was hit by the rafter, losing his right eye. The judge rejected claims that Mr James was partly responsible for the accident, observing that he had been working on the conservatory all day and could not have been expected to ask for permission before going back into the room.

"The only sensible conclusion is that Mr Butler ought to have been able to tell whether or not the screw was doing its job," said the judge.

"He was not taking reasonable safety precautions, he was in breach of his duty of care and he is liable to compensate Mr James."

Mr Butler's lawyers had told the court that his only means of paying the damages along with a substantial legal costs bill is by selling his own home.

Raymond James'I have to live with it for life'

SALESMAN Raymond James has spoken of his depression after the accident.

Mr James was rushed to hospital and underwent an operation to sew his eye together with 16 stitches.

He said: "I get depressed now. I can't watch TV or read for more than half an hour. I have to wear a black contact lens because light hurts.

"I have to put eyedrops in everyday because I have no tear duct and I always have to take painkillers.

"This is something I have to live with for the rest of my life, the sight is not going to come back.

"The worry is now that if I lose my other eye I'll be completely blind. I've already had some problems with it."

And Mr James said that he thinks the outcome was the right one.

"I think the judgement was fair," he said. "But I should have never lost the case last year. It all came down to the fact he wasn't insured properly. For the sake of £70 a year in insurance we've had to go through this."

Remembering the fateful day, his wife Pauline said: "He just came into the kitchen screaming and holding his eye.

"The beam came straight down and into his eye."

' I was just trying to help someone' says neighbour

Alan Butler, 34, says that selling the family home in Tinkers Field, Wootton Bassett, where he lives with his wife and three young children, is the only way he can pay the money.

And he says he can't believe a favour to a friend ended up costing him £45,000.

He said: "I'm very annoyed.

"I'm really shocked. I can't appeal, there's nothing I can do.

"I was just trying to help someone. The message is don't try to help. It's not worth it.

"He was nice afterwards and spoke to me up until the day he moved then I got a letter from his solicitor.

"I don't know what I can do. I don't know what's going to happen.

"I will have to sell my house.

"I've lived here 12 years. I don't want to have to leave, would anyone?

"He was in court and he wouldn't even look at me.

"There was a lot of things going through my mind when I heard the decision.

"I don't know what planet the people that made the decision came from.

"I've got three kids. They're nine, 12 and 14 and they didn't take it very well at all. They're distraught.

"The older two realise we might have to sell the house and we've had to send them to school with notes explaining why they're upset."

Gareth Bethell