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A British farmer who built a castle and then kept it hidden behind straw bales for four years while he lived there was told to demolish it Wednesday because he had not received planning permission.
Robert Fidler, 60, spent two years building his dream home -- complete with cannon, ramparts and stained glass -- in Redhill, Surrey, south of London before moving in with his wife and eight-year-old son.
But he had not been given the green light for construction by local officials.
Fidler thought he could exploit a legal loophole allowing some residents to avoid planning controls if their property was constructed more than four years ago and he kept the property secret from 2002, when it was finished, to 2006.
Judge Thayne Forbes at the High Court in London ruled this did not apply in his case, though, after several years of legal wrangling.
"Mr Fidler made it quite clear that the construction of his house was undertaken in a clandestine fashion, using a shield of straw bales around it and tarpaulins or plastic sheeting over the top in order to hide its presence during construction," the judge said.
Fidler's lawyer Pritpal Singh Swarn said his client was considering an appeal.
"Mr Fidler is obviously disappointed and will almost certainly want to appeal bearing in mind what he stands to lose, which is the house that he has built," Swarn said.
