Builders left a family stranded by digging up the road leading to their home.

The mistake was the last straw after nine months of chaos caused by developers building a housing estate next to Ian and Isabella Thomas' pretty cottage.

Since work began in December, the Thomases have:

Had their address changed when the street was renamed
Watched their house vibrate as heavy machinery rolled by yards from their front door
Had to use emergency power and water supplies
Been warned their cottage could sink.

The Thomases, who have two autistic sons, have brought in the district council, who are demanding the private lane is replaced.

They are also considering legal action against Westbury, which is building 120-home Harbour Heights estate on the land between the cottage and the coast.

When they first spotted Bleak House, set on a leafy hillside among fields overlooking Newhaven Beach, the couple thought they had found the perfect spot for their two autistic children.

Mrs Thomas, 45, said: "When we bought the house in November we were only told a month before we moved in there was going to be a housing estate next door.

"We carried on with the sale, although we don't know why this did not come up in the local authority search when we bought the property.

"We have put up with the noise and pollution from the building site for months but, about three weeks ago, was the final straw.

"They totally dug up Pevensey Road and gave us no access to our garage.

"Worse still, there is a huge hole running along the side of my house and it is slowly sinking. The council have admitted that our house is in danger due to the very fragile foundations.

"It has been a nightmare. I have two autistic children, who have to be watched 24 hours a day, and they are now living opposite a building site. It's very dangerous."

Mrs Thomas is the founder of Jabs, a support group planning to take the Government to court over claims that the Mumps, Measles and Rubella (MMR) jab causes autism.

She believes both her sons Michael, 10, and Terry, 8, are autistic because of the jab.

She said: "Michael was particularly aggressive and we wanted to move somewhere which would be more relaxing.

"But now we have to watch them constantly, as we have caught them on the building site and in the holes, because there is not adequate fencing off of the area.

"The scariest thing has been when the house starts to vibrate, especially when the heavy diggers drive past our house. It has the boys in tears, as they think the house is going to fall down.

"They start work at 7.30am and don't finish until six."

The couple were also made to use emergency water, electricity and gas.

Isabella added: "They said that we need to use emergency supplies. They said it in such a matter-of-fact way that if we didn't use these supplies, we wouldn't have anything.

"So they dug up my driveway and garden many months ago to put in a temporary supply. They have only recently repaired all the damage that was done to the outside of the house.

"But when they started digging up the road, that was the final straw and we contacted the council and our solicitors. The council have now told them to reinstate the road. But they haven't started yet."

When the council heard about the road being dug up, they told Westbury Homes to suspend work and reinstate the road. Now Westbury Homes have applied for permission to close off the road, but that must first go to a public consultation.

A letter sent by East Sussex County Council to Westbury demanded the road, which links the garage at Bleak House to the Pevensey Road, was put back.

It also demanded excavations at the back of their cottage are filled in to stop the possible sinking.

Isabella is considering taking legal action against the firm for all the damage and suffering it has caused.

A county council spokeswoman: "Westbury Homes have not yet been granted permission to close off the road while they build a new estate road.

"Until a retrospective application by Westbury Homes, to close off a section of the road known as Pevensey Road is processed, the County Council, as Highway Authority, has instructed Westbury Homes to reinstate the road as it was before."

To add to her woes, Lewes District Council have changed her address without her permission.

Isabella said: "The district council told me that I now live on Haven Way, instead of Pevensey Road. It was nice of them to tell me.

"The whole situation has gone beyond a joke and I just hope the matter can be resolved, as it's causing my family hassle that we don't need."

Westbury Homes regional managing director Richard Terry said: "The situation with Mr and Mrs Thomas is that while they have access to their property, they are quite correct to say that they cannot get to their driveway and garage.

"We have now received instructions from East Sussex County Council that we need to build suitable vehicle access to Pevensey Road."

"When we purchased the site some years ago, we believed we had the rights to all the surrounding land. It only came to light as we were developing the site that Pevensey Road is a public right of way.

"If there is any doubt that the house has been damaged because the road has been dug up, we will deal directly with Mr and Mrs Thomas.

"We have dug up the driveway and we have also offered to complete a new driveway for the Thomases once the road is complete.

"I have every sympathy with the family with the building project going on. They are not the most pleasant things."