A professional snooker player is battling his own mother in a high-stakes High Court battle over who owns their £500,000 family home.
World No. 37 Matthew Selt and his siblings have been accused in court of ‘ganging up’ on their mother to force her into signing over the deeds to the Essex property.
Susan Hickenbotham has lived in the three-bedroom property in Romford since 1998.
While the home was originally owned by the sportsman’s father, Michael Selt, Ms Hickenbotham said she secured the property after their split in 2000 with a £7,500 down-payment, with her own father later clearing the remaining mortgage.
But the court heard conflicting accounts of the home’s legal standing as Ms Hickenbotham maintains that while her daughter, Claire Noble, holds the legal title, she remains the true beneficiary.
Selt, 41, and his sisters staunchly dispute this version of events, alleging that their father gifted the property directly to them.
Representing themselves in court, the siblings contend that their mother has lived in the property merely as a tenant and ‘never held a monetary interest’ in the home.
The case hinges on a disagreement over the property’s history and a series of financial transfers as Mr Selt told the court his father always maintained the house was ‘bought for the three of us’.
World No. 37 snooker star Matthew Selt who flew to the UK from Dubai to testify is seen leaving the The High Court
The High Court battle revolves around a three-bedroom property (pictured) in Romford, Essex, which serves as the centerpiece of the family’s fractured relationship
His sister, Claire Noble, became the registered owner at age 20 in 2000, claiming she held the title in trust for herself and her then-underage siblings.
The court heard that Ms Noble became the sole owner in 2019 after reportedly providing a £100,000 ‘gift’ to Matthew and pledging an equal amount to their sister, Charlotte Hamblin.
Currently residing in Dubai, Matthew flew to the UK to testify that while he used the £100,000 to purchase his first home, he was unaware of the funds’ specific origin.
He added that he could not recall the details of the original 2000 agreement as he was only 15 years old at the time.
Tom Russell KC, representing Ms Hickenbotham, pointedly asked the snooker pro if he was ‘making this evidence up’ as he went along.
‘I’m a little bit confused as to the timelines, but no, I’m not,’ Selt replied, defending his testimony.
Ms Hickenbotham offered a starkly different account of the property’s financial history as she testified that she remortgaged the home multiple times specifically to help her children ‘get on the housing ladder,’ under the strict agreement that they would cover the repayments.
In a scathing assessment, the mother-of-three described her children as ‘convincing and accomplished fibbers.’
She told the court she was ultimately forced to sign over the property deeds ‘under duress’ in August 2019, marking the climax of what she presents as a campaign of pressure from her own family.
Mr Selt (pictured) and his siblings are in a dispute with their mother to determine the rightful owner of their £500,000 family home
She claims they turned up ‘mob-handed’ and left her ‘extremely distressed’, but the siblings deny this.
The claimant, who has not worked in nearly 50 years and has been claiming housing benefits since 1992, was served an eviction notice by Ms Noble when she stopped paying rent in 2024, it was said.
Ms Hickenbotham is essentially putting her own liberty at risk by admitting to a crime to win a civil case by claiming she owned the house while simultaneously claiming housing benefits (which are only for renters).
At the start of the trial, Judge Simon Monty KC warned her that if her claim succeeded she would be guilty of benefit fraud.
He said: ‘If the claimant is right and the property was always hers, there has been a benefits fraud.
‘The claimant has been wrongly, possibly dishonestly, claiming benefits.’
He told Mr Russell KC: ‘If your client is right I’ve got no choice but to report her.’
