A 1970s music icon was forced to sell two of his beloved guitars after finding himself destitute and facing eviction. Bassist and vocalist Mervyn Spence, who was a member of both Wishbone Ash and Trapeze had a string of hits in the 1970s, and in 2015 barricaded himself in the attic of his £225,000 barn conversion country home to protest against a mortgage company trying to repossess his property.

The musician, now 68, said at the time he took the drastic action when he was unable to meet the £1,400-a-month Nationwide mortgage repayments. He claimed the company had refused to cut the 5.5 per cent interest rate he has been stuck with since 2008. His problems began in 2008, when he organised an outdoor event that had to be cancelled due to flooding. This left him liable to pay out £150,000 in refunds.

Spence explained this huge loss had affected his credit rating and prevented him from getting a loan elsewhere, which left him locked into his Nationwide deal.

“My head was full of other things because I had £150,000 commitments to make – the last thing I thought about was the best mortgage deal,” he told The Scotsman during his protest.

Five years before his protest, in 2010, the father-of-two had been forced to sell two of his prized guitars just to keep up with the repayments, but he fell behind again in 2013.

“I had to sell some guitars in 2010; I had a Fender Precision, which I’d had since the 1970s, and sold for about £1,200 to £1,500. The last payments I made were at the end of 2013, but I couldn’t afford to make the full £1,400,” he told the publication.

The building society took him to court in January 2014, where a judge ruled they had the right to sell the two-bedroom detached house, and he argued they were selling the property for £160,000, which was £65,000 less than the offer accepted in 2013.

At the time, a Nationwide spokesperson told the title Spence’s rate was “completely fair and reasonable”, adding: “We have shown significant forbearance over a long period of time and have tried to do our best for Mr Spence.

“We are on Mr Spence’s side, but, for the wider membership, we need to be on their side too, and we will make sure we are.”

Sadly, his attic protest proved unsuccessful. It lasted a fortnight before he was finally evicted and his house was sold.