Terrified British family forced to flee Portugal after angry neighbours send death threats
Lynn and Richard Appleby-Brisco quit the UK for a quality life in the Guarda district of Portugal but claims locals weren't happy about their move.
A British family who moved to Portugal and featured in a Channel 4 show have claimed locals forced them to flee after allegedly killing their pets and sending them a series of death threats. Lynn and Richard Appleby-Brisco documented their move abroad in 2016 on Our Wildest Dreams where they took their two daughters to the Guarda district.
According to the couple, when they moved to the remote village, they faced a "storm of resentment" and their dog Cu, aged four, died after allegedly being attacked by a villager.
They also claimed that a local admitted to snatching their cat Ponyo and her kitten Bubbles back in January after their goats were poisoned.
The family, from Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, went on to claim that they received a series of death threats following their cat's death.
Lynn, 51, claims that when she confronted a villager about the mystery deaths, she was told: "We've taken your pets and you're next."
She told The Sun: "I just couldn't take it anymore, and it was my absolute lowest point. i was scared to be in the house on my own so I would hang around the biggest local town all day to feel safe.
"It was so bad that when I would go down to the farm I would carry a knife with me, and I consider myself a pacifist."
The family believe they inadvertently put a target on their backs after their episode aired in 2018. Among some of the other incidents, the family claim they were called "English pigs" while rumours were swirled about Lynn claiming she was a devil-worshipping prostitute after she planted flowers outside their home.
The family-of-four have since returned home, originally leaving in hopes of a more affordable lifestyle. Lynn and her children, Emily, 12, and Yvie, 10, are now living in a one-bed apartment, while their father is still trying to sell the property in Portugal and drive back all of their belongings.
The family have raised £3,700 through a GoFundMe page to try and recover from the failed plot to move abroad.
On the page, Ms Appleby-Brisco wrote: "We arrived in Portugal almost eight years ago full of excitement of starting a new, sustainable life. We were followed by the film crew from Channel Fours Our Wildest Dreams as we wanted to inspire others.
"Initially our lives were great, we wanted to integrate locally so didn't mix as much with the expats, put our girls in the village school, bought a little farm on the edge of the village, started to learn the language better, did everything we thought right. Little did we know there was a storm of resentment in the village towards us, we had done nothing wrong so why would we even question it."
