A RETIRED builder who has been told he has to knock down his home is making a one-man protest in a bid to get the attention of Durham County Council.

Jim Bradwell, 67, from Evenwood Gate, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, has been battling planners since 2007 when he first applied for permission to build a bungalow on his land.

Despite being denied permission, he built it anyway and has been refusing orders to demolish it ever since.

He was meant to have knocked the house down by December 31, 2015, after pleading guilty to failing to comply with an enforcement order at Teesside Crown Court last June.

Speaking outside County Hall, Durham, he said: “I’ve been here every day for a fortnight and I will keep doing it. It’s cold but the support I’m getting is fantastic. It’s keeping me going.

“I’ve tried everything else, I’ve tried writing to different people and I’ve tried the courts. I’ve run out of money and time so I paid £20 for a board and came here.

“I’m fed up and I want closure.”

Teesdale District Council refused permission because planners said it was on a greenfield site, something Mr Bradwell has always denied.

He says a vital document detailing the site’s former use was lost by planners but says he has never been able to challenge the original decision.

Since then he has tried to fight Durham County Council, which replaced the district authority in 2009, through the High Court, the European Court of Human Rights and the planning inspectorate.

Durham County Council declined to comment.