I’m being forced to cut down my £10,000 fence by council jobsworths… they’re coming after me – it’s madness

, has complained "nothing has happened" to the owners of other fences in the road, which she says are the same height.

The council were reportedly alerted to the fence by a whistle-blower earlier this year, despite it going up in January 2020.

It is just over six foot tall and runs for 164ft outside the £280,000 home that Susan shares with her partner Andrew Doyle.

Former RAF administrator Susan told the Sun Online: "It’s such an injustice, we were just really surprised

"Other people have exactly the same type of fence as we’ve got, so why are we being punished?

"We are being unfairly penalised, it’s madness."

She added that the couple are worried about being able to afford the work "in this age of austerity".

Andrew, 58, also demanded to be told why no action had been taken against other residents with fences.

The aircraft engineer fumed: "We replaced the hedge with the fence, unaware of the need for planning permission until we suddenly had a letter out of the blue from Wiltshire Council who came after us.

"Now we have to cut it down by a half - we have to cut it down to one metre (about 3ft 3in) high.

"It’s the loss of the privacy that I’m worried about. It’s crazy because I could put a hedge back in and let it get as big as I like.

"The old hedge was 8ft high and 6ft wide and filthy because people used to throw rubbish in it."

It's such an injustice"

Susan Paul

The couple's application for retrospective planning permission was denied by the council.

Susan said that the couple were shocked when their application was turned down and that they though it would "just be a paperwork exercise."

A Government planning inspector has also dismissed their appeal against the enforcement notice.

In his ruling, the inspector said: "Other examples of conspicuous fencing are no compelling reason to accept the fencing the subject of the deemed planning application."

Councillor Nick Botterill, Wiltshire Council's Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, said: "The enforcement notices in place are required to be met by March 16 2023.

"We would strongly encourage anyone considering undertaking development to check with the council to establish if planning permission is required before starting any works.

"Should we receive any formal reports of any issues with other fences in the area, then we will investigate these in line with our normal processes and take appropriate action if required."

Ultimately, the couple say they will have to comply with the order, with Andrew saying: "We are law abiding citizens, if they order is to reduce it then we will have to."