A DORCHESTER grandmother has launched a groundbreaking legal bid for the right to stay in the home she shared with her dentist partner for 18 years.

Joy Williams, now 69, lived with Norman Martin for nearly two decades after she fell in love with him and worked as his loyal receptionist.

The coupled lived together in a three-bedroom bungalow in Coburg Road – but she now faces losing the property.

Mr Martin, who died of a heart attack in 2012, never divorced from his estranged wife, Maureen Martin, Central London County Court was told.

The estranged couple owned the property as "tenants in common", which meant it could not automatically pass to Miss Williams after Mr Martin's death.

Mr Martin never divorced his wife, nor updated his will, so that after his death his half share of the bungalow and other assets all went to Mrs Martin, 72.

Miss Williams, now faces the threat of losing her home as she cannot afford to buy out Mrs Martin. She has launched a unique legal action to prevent what she sees as a fundamental injustice.

She is asking the court to award Mr Martin's share of the house – valued at around £355,000 – to her.

Her legal team say her case reveals a crucial flaw in the law – as co-habiting partners lack the same inheritance rights as those who marry or go through civil partnerships.

Miss Williams has been forced to litigate "so that she has some security in the future", her lawyers maintain.

Paula Myers, her solicitor, said before the hearing: "This case highlights the needs for cohabitation laws to be brought into the 21st century.

"Too many people do not realise the risks of co-habitating without putting their legal and financial affairs in order.

"Couples who co-habit do not have the same rights as married couples or those in a civil partnership.

"The idea of a common-law husband or wife is an urban myth."

Miss Williams, who has four children by a previous marriage, said before the hearing that her relationship with Mr Martin had been a "love story".

"I was very happy with him for 18 years and I still treasure his memory," she added.

Mrs Martin, who is defending the legal claim, lives around half a mile away from Miss Williams.

Mrs Martin's barrister, James Weale, said she had enjoyed a "very unusual" relationship with Norman Martin, her dentist husband, after they stopped living together as man and wife.

Responding to Judge Nigel Gerald's suggestion that they had lived "as if they were divorced", Mr Weale insisted their relationship was "significantly more serious" than that.

He said: "No doubt it raised a few eyebrows throughout Dorchester."

He pointed out that they still had joint bank accounts even after they stopped co-habiting.

There was still "enormous trust" between them, he told the court, adding: "That's indicative of the close relationship between them".

Mr Weale's comments came in the closing stages of the court dispute with Mrs Martin over the carve-up of Mr Martin's estate.

Judge Gerald is expected to give his ruling in the case on Tuesday next week.