A COUPLE who spent 12 years and £15,000 creating the garden of their dreams have been told to dig it up -- because it's in the green belt.

Now Frank and Rosemary Jackson are considering lodging an appeal after Hyndburn Council chiefs served them with an enforcement notice demanding the garden be 'returned to its natural state.' The couple today appealed for common sense to prevail, with Rosemary saying: "Our garden doesn't detract from the green belt."

Their case has also won support from Hyndburn MP Greg Pope, who described the situation as 'petty bureaucracy.' But the council insisted it had to take the stand to prevent the green belt being eroded and stop towns sprawling into the countryside. When they bought their home in Holme Lea, Clayton-le-Moors, 12 years ago, the couple also purchased extra land which doubled the garden's size but stretched into an area designated as green belt by Hyndburn Council.

That patch of land took their back garden to a total of one and a half acres, and they began turning into the garden of their dreams. It now comprises shrubs, trees, herbaceous borders with flowered perennial plants like Angelica, trellises, paths and a vegetable garden.

But when they erected a summerhouse in the green belt part of the garden, neighbours complained and planning officials told the couple they had broken regulations by developing green belt land without permission.

A retrospective planning application was refused by councillors in July, and the enforcement notice asking them to return the green belt half of the garden to its natural state was served this week.

Mrs Jackson, a teacher at Moor End Primary School, Oswaldtwistle, said: "We admit that we have broken planning rules but it is a garden.

"The council is building massive industrial estates on the far side of the green belt from us yet they say our garden is damaging.

"We would just like common sense to prevail."

Mrs Jackson and her husband, an electrician, had planned to open it up to the public in the summer to raise money for charity. She added: "We have spent years and thousands of pounds on it. It seems such a waste.

"We don't know if we will appeal yet because we don't know if there is much point."

Mr Jackson added: "We have until December 1 to appeal. We didn't know it was green belt when we bought it and started work on it."

Green belt are areas of land which cannot be developed and are designed to be preserved. The land can not be altered from its natural state.

Chairman of Hyndburn's development services committee, Coun John Griffiths, said: "It is extremely unfortunate that these people will have to remove what is by any standards an attractive garden.

"Green belts have been put in place to stop towns sprawling into the countryside. They are a cornerstone of planning.

"The green belt between Clayton and Great Harwood is very narrow. If we allowed this development, many other houses along the edge of both towns could legitimately seek to extend into the green belt.

"Use of gardens may not seem harmful, but this would set a precedent and make the land available for housing development. "

Clayton councillor Tim O'Kane said: "It is a great shame because it is such a nice garden but what choice do we have? We have very little green belt left."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "It is petty bureaucracy gone mad.

"They have vastly improved this area of Hyndburn and cannot see what the council are up too.

"It is a complete waste of public money."

A spokesman for the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions confirmed the couple had the right to appeal. Any appeal would be heard before an independent adjudicator.