House sitting in the middle of 2 newly built roads torn down

An isolated house sitting in the middle of two newly built roads in Wenling city, east China's Zhejiang province, has been torn down by bulldozers.

The five-storey house was home to two families and owned by 67-year-old Luo Genbao.

In the "there today, gone tomorrow" world of Chinese construction, entire communities can often disappear and be replaced by high rises or other public works in a matter of weeks or months.

Municipal officials in Wenling had been planning a new access road that would lead to a new railway station just outside the city.

To make way for the road city planners decided they would have to tear down a section of homes that were in its path.

Genbao built the 5-storey house in 2001 at a cost of 600,000 (£60,000).

However, he says, the local government only offered to compensate him 270,000 (£27,000) for tearing the property down and he refused to move.

So, while the surrounding homes were knocked down so that the road could be built, his remained.

However, China's official Xinhua news agency has now reported that he finally accepted $41,000 to leave the premises.

The bulldozers came in after Luo and his family moved to a relocation area on Saturday morning.

Images: Rex