A woman who believed she had finally seen the end of a four-year legal wrangle may face a six-figure compensation claim from a polish builder who fell off a ladder while repairing her roof.

In a case a judge said would be "greeted with horror" by homeowners, Nadia Isaacs is being challenged for damages by Tomasz Kmiecic, 31, who fell at her Hamstead, north London, home in 2006.

He blamed her exacting standards of cleanliness for his fall because she refused to let him walk on her white carpets to gain access via her son's bedroom window.

Instead, he had to reach the leaking garage roof via a ladder which was too short for the job.

He fell, injuring his elbow, hip and thigh and can never work again as a builder.

Mrs Isaacs was cleared of blame in the High Court in March. A judge said the real culprit was the building contractor for whom Mr Kmiecic was working.

But last week another judge, Lady Justice Smith, granted Mr Kmiecic permission to appeal. She said she did so "with a heavy heart".

Mrs Isaac's barrister, Rohan Pershad, said that if Mr Kmiecic succeeded, customers would be obliged to let builders traipse through their homes and insisted that she had done nothing wrong by putting her home "out of bounds" to workmen.