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A woman who tried to sue her pensioner neighbour over a Japanese knotweed which 'burst through the garden fence' of her £1.1m home is facing a £100,000 legal bill after her case was thrown out.
Charron Ishmael, 50, claimed retired consultant Dr Sheila Clark, 72, knew she had the invasive plant in her adjacent garden in Islington, north , for years, and chose not to have it removed or dealt with. 
But Dr Clark insisted she had not noticed the knotweed prior to 2017 as she was 'not interested in gardening'.

That summer, she had the area treated before removing the invasive plant a year later in 2018. 
By that time, Mrs Ishmael claimed the rampant canes - notoriously destructive and difficult to eradicate - had ended up growing beneath the ground to infest her own garden, knocking £150,000 off the value of her property. 
She sued her neighbour at Central London County Court, but the case was thrown out this week after the judge found Dr Clark to be a 'logical' witness who took a 'reasonable' approach to removing the knotweed once she was aware of its presence. 
It came after the court heard how Dr Clark had unwittingly sprayed the invasive plant with regular weedkiller, potentially making it even more difficult to treat, while Mrs Ishmael had to spend thousands to have the plant removed from her own home. 
But dismissing Mrs Ishmael's claim, judge Grahame Aldous KC ordered her to pay Dr Clark's legal bills, estimated at £83,000, with £65,000 payable up front - plus her own costs of the case, meaning a total loss of more than £100,000.
Charron Ishmael (pictured outside Central London County Court), 50, claimed her neighbour and retired NHS consultant Dr Sheila Clark, 72, knew she had an invasive plant in her garden for years without taking proper steps to get rid of it
Dr Clark (pictured outside Central London County Court) - who admitted knowing about the knotweed infestation from the summer of 2017 - arranged for specialist contractors to treat the area, and the weeds were dug up in the summer of the following year
Aerial photo shows Dr Clark's garden (roadside, partially covered by a tree), with Mrs Ishmael's immediately above 
The court heard the two neighbours owned adjoining terraced houses in Bunning Way, Islington, north London (pictured) 
The court heard the two neighbours owned adjoining terraced houses in Bunning Way, Islington, north London. 
Mrs Ishmael claimed the first she knew of knotweed in the area was when another neighbour pointed to canes growing higher than the level of the fence in Dr Clark's end-of-terrace garden.
'My neighbour told me the Japanese knotweed could spread and I was worried about that,' she said.
The knotweed was 'out of control' and 'rapidly growing,' she told the judge, adding that it was 'overhanging' the boundary fence and eventually 'came through my fencing.' 
Dr Clark - who admitted knowing about the knotweed infestation from the summer of 2017 - arranged for specialist contractors to treat the area, and the weeds were dug up in the summer of the following year.
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But Mrs Ishmael claimed 11 months was too long a delay, during which the knotweed roots - or rhizomes - would have continued growing underneath the fence and into her garden.
Evidence also suggested that the knotweed had been in Dr Clark's garden for 'some years' previous and that it had been treated by someone who did not know what they were doing.
'It is my belief she has known about the Japanese knotweed in her garden for many years and hasn't dealt with it,' Mrs Ishmael told the judge during the trial.
Ultimately, Mrs Ishmael had to pay thousands to have the resulting infestation in her garden treated and has since sold up for £150,000 less than the £1.1m her house was previously valued at. 
But Dr Clark insisted she did not know about the infestation until it was pointed out to her in 2017 and that she had taken steps immediately to engage experts to try get rid of it.
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