Chana and Simon Taub, both 57, have endured two years of divorce negotiations, but neither is prepared to give up their Brooklyn home.

Now a white partition wall has been built through the heart of the house to keep the pair apart. Mr Taub asked a judge to allow him to erect the partition when the couple's divorce stalled over financial details.

The Taubs' divorce has been rumbling through the New York divorce courts for two years.

But despite owning another home - just two doors away - the unhappily married couple have decided to carry on living under the same roof.

"It's my house, " said Simon Taub, who requested the building of the wall. "And emotionally, in my age, I want to be in my house."