Mr Magill and his wife were buyers for 7 Nightingale Street from the Holdsworths. They rang early on one morning in February 1994 for an appointment to come back to the house to take some more measurements and Reg Holdsworth was pleased for an excuse to leave mother-in-law Maud Grimes at home to see them, rather than have her in the Corner Shop. When they turned up at the house, an abrupt Maud, who desperately didn’t want to move, told the pair that they’d been gazumped and the house had already been sold, irrespective of what Reg had told them. They threatened their solicitor and Maud, in turn, threatened to turn her (non-existent) dog on them if they didn’t get off her doorstep. The couple went straight to the shop to see Reg and Maureen with Mrs Magill suggesting that her husband take a deep breath before he said anything as they entered. Upon hearing the tale, Maureen explained that Maud was resistant to moving and the house wasn’t sold. The couple told Reg and Maureen that if the matter wasn’t sorted out by tea time, they would be informing their solicitors. Reg and Maureen subsequently found that Maud hadn’t been lying - Maud had sold the house from under their feet to Weatherfield Financial Services on the understanding that she could live in it, with an income, until she died.