A British family who were chased out of Portugal by locals who called them “English pigs” were told their situation “wasn’t desperate enough” for them to deserve help after fleeing to the UK, a friend revealed.
Lynn and Richard Appleby-Brisco moved to the Guarda district in a Mediterranean country in 2016 with the intention of starting a more “affordable” life with their two young daughters.
But the family, which appeared on Channel 4‘s Our Wildest Dreams, were forced to return to the UK shortly after the show aired when their life in a remote village became their worst nightmare.
Lynn’s close friend Denny Lewis told MailOnline: ‘She landed at Heathrow with her two young daughters and had to take the night bus to Bedford and checked into a local Premier Inn.
“I went to see her and we bought her some clothes sent by a friend and other people. But local housing authorities said, and I quote, their situation “is not bad enough.”
Lynn and Richard Appleby-Brisco moved abroad in 2016 to start a more “affordable” life with their two daughters (all pictured together) in the Guarda district of Portugal.
The family’s move to the remote village was filmed for Channel 4’s Our Wildest Dreams. They are pictured on the show in 2018 here
Lynn said she was “afraid to be alone in the house” and would “carry a knife” when she went down to the farm.
Ms Lewis added: “Apparently she wasn’t desperate enough to get help so she started turning to food banks and we have now started a GoFundMe page.
“Lynn had no money, nowhere to live and would have ended up on the streets. The local government would have left her on the streets with two young girls and they still won’t help her.
“She had paid her taxes for 30 years before leaving for Portugal. She was literally on the street and with very little money.
“So, as they didn’t want to help him, a friend and I found him a little place to live in Kempston. It’s like a little vacation chalet.
“So she and the girls moved there, but she couldn’t get any help from the government.
“But Lynn is not a shy person, so as soon as she got to the hotel, she was setting up interviews to find a job.”
Ms Lewis said her friend was joined by her husband who had returned from Portugal by road and with some of their belongings.
She said the mother-of-two now worked as a chef in a pub restaurant and did 12-hour shifts.
“It hasn’t been good, she and Richard have definitely been left out,” she said.
The couple’s harrowing experience in Portugal came to a head when angry locals attacked the family dog, Cu – an Estrela Mountain Cross Retriever – who later died aged four.
Appleby-Brisco’s ordeal echoes that of Orla Dargan, who faced years of threatening behavior from a neighbor and found her rescue dog dead in a shallow well after moving in Portugal in 2016.
The family of four, from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, say their goats were poisoned after a local admitted stealing their cat Ponyo and her kitten bubbles in January.
Ms Appleby-Brisco, 51, said that when she confronted a villager about the mysterious deaths, she was told: “We took your pets and you are next.”
She told The Sun: “I couldn’t take it anymore, and it was my absolute lowest point.
“I was afraid of being alone in the house, so I hung out all day in the biggest local town to feel safe.
“It was so bad that when I went down to the farm I carried a knife with me and I consider myself a pacifist.”
The family believes they inadvertently put a target on themselves after their episode aired in 2018.
Orla Dargan in Portugal with her rescue dog Henry, who she says was ‘killed’ amid ongoing border conflict
Among scandalous incidents of harassment, the family were spat at and called “English pigs” – while rumors swirled that Ms Appleby-Brisco was a devil-worshipping prostitute after planting flowers outside their home.
The family returned to the UK in February with a small suitcase containing a change of clothes and pajamas.
Ms Appleby-Brisco and her children, Emily, 12, and Yvie, 10, now live in a one-bedroom apartment, while their father is still trying to sell the property in Portugal and return all their belongings.
It comes after a former City investment banker, retired in the Algarve, told MailOnline of her years of hell after an ‘aggressive’ neighbor took over her land and kicked her out of her home, the forcing one to hide.
Orla Dargan bought her dream Portuguese villa for around £600,000 in 2016
Orla Dargan bought her dream Portuguese villa for around €600,000 in 2016 and lived there happily for several years before her neighbor, a real estate agent she describes as a “dangerous” man, moved in next door .
The mother-of-two said she was warned about her ‘hot temper’ and then faced years of threatening behavior including an alleged attempt to run her off the road near her home She.
Her beloved rescue dog was also found dead, floating in a shallow well, suffering horrific injuries.
Richard is pictured building their home in Portugal before being forced to return to the UK.
The family raised £3,700 via a GoFundMe page to try to recover from the failed plan to move abroad.
The Appleby-Briscos have raised £3,800 via a GoFundMe page to try to recover from the failed plan to move abroad.
On the page, Ms Appleby-Brisco wrote: “We arrived in Portugal almost eight years ago, full of excitement about starting a new sustainable life. We were followed by the Channel Fours Our Wildest Dreams film crew as we wanted to inspire others.
“At first our lives were great, we wanted to integrate locally, so we didn’t mix much with expats, put our daughters in the village school, bought a small farm on the outskirts of the village, started to get better learning the language, everything we thought was good.
“Little did we know there was a storm of resentment in the village towards us, we hadn’t done anything wrong so why would we question it.”
Channel 4 has been contacted for comment.
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