A COUNCIL has warned homeowners and developers not to flout planning laws after a building company was fined £1,000.

Magistrates in Northallerton also fined the owners of a house in the town's conservation area after hearing that plastic windows had been fitted illegally.

The company had replaced the windows in the rented home in Steads Yard with UPVC windows - despite a planning application for the change being refused and an appeal against that decision being dismissed.

Magistrates also ordered the company to pay £300 costs and remove the windows.

Hambleton District Council's head of development control, Maurice Cann, said: "This company had gone ahead with the change regardless of our decisions and is now faced with a hefty bill, not just from the court case but to put the correct windows in this building.

"We hope this sends out a clear message to other houseowners and developers who think they can flout the restrictions placed on conservation areas.

"We have had other cases where appeals against our decisions have been lodged and we have won each one.

"People cannot get away with this. We are trying to retain the character of the conservation area in which they live, something most people appreciate."