A FATHER-OF-FOUR who was ordered to pull down a garage he built without planning permission has been left bemused after being told a shipping container he replaced it with is acceptable.

Durham County Council condemned the pre-fab pebble dashed garage Trevor Stephenson assembled in his garden - saying it was harmful to the character and appearance of the area.

But the 39-year-old, of Barnard Castle, got round the planning rules by instead installing the green shipping container - which the council says can stay.

He said: "It is ridiculous. How can a shipping container be better than a carefully constructed garage?

"It is bureaucracy gone mad. I spent a long time making sure the garage fitted in with other buildings in the area.

"It was pebble-dashed and I was more than happy to paint it white, the same colour as my house, but the council would not compromise."

Mr Stephenson, who owns a vehicle repairs business, built the garage in 2013 at a cost of £1,000 as his family were outgrowing the two-bed bungalow and wanted extra storage space.

He did not think he would need planning permission as it was a pre-fab which could be easily taken down.

However, six months later he was told he did need permission as it protruded from the front of his house and been built on top of a boundary wall.

He then applied for retrospective permission but was refused and was sent an enforcement notice ordering him to demolish the garage as the council ruled it was "highly prominent and intrusive and harmful to the character and appearance of the area".

He ignored the enforcement order and in July of last year found himself in court where he was fined £860 and left with no choice but to take the garage down.

He added: "I have four kids under the age of seven and we only have a two-bed bungalow.

"After I took down the garage I was left with no storage. I needed something quick and fast, so I ordered a shipping container which cost around £1,000."

This time Mr Stepheson studied planning regulations and discovered that as long as the shipping container was 2m away from the garden wall and no higher than 2.5m high, he would not need permission from the council.

A planning officer has since confirmed the container does not breach planning controls.

He added: "The whole thing is ludicrous.

"I am glad the shipping container can stay but I do not understand why this is better than a garage.

"I work up to 19 hours a day, and I pay my council tax.

"If I treated a customer in the way the council have treated me then I would be out of business. Its mind boggling to think of the time and money they have wasted on this.

"I would much rather have the garage than the shipping container in my garden.

"Altogether the debacle has cost me about £4,000, and that's not including the hours I have spent working on the garage and taking it down."

Stuart Timmiss, Durham County Council's head of planning and assets, said: "Planning law is very clear in respect of containers of this size in this type of location in that they are permitted development.

"Therefore, as a local authority we have no powers at all to deal with this matter."