Neighbours from hell: how Syria's war hit an Acton street

Six weeks ago his cousin joined the list of 8,000 fatalities, helping the opposition fightback amid the ranks of the Free Syrian Army.

The trauma has not been helped by increasingly fraught relations in his own road in Acton , west London – where he lives opposite the father-in-law of the Syrian dictator.

Dr Fawaz Akhras, the Harley Street cardiologist who is the father of President Bashar Assad's British-born wife, Asma, has always maintained he is a non-political figure, far removed from the Damascus regime. Last week it was alleged he had advised Mr Assad on media relations, while he was also quoted comparing the Syrian uprising to the London riots.

"Before the revolution, things were pretty normal. I used to say hello when he was parking his car," said Mr Al-Abdeh, an activist and editor of pro-democracy television channel Barada who came to Britain in 1986 aged five when his father left Syria for political reasons.

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