A GREEN-FINGERED couple have lost their appeal to save the £15,000 dream garden they spent 12 years creating on green belt land.

Today Hyndburn Borough Council's head of planning Brendan Lyons said this is an unfortunate case but that Frank and Rosemary Jackson had chosen to ignore advice given before they went ahead with the work at their Clayton-le-Moors home.

He said encroachment into the green belt had to be prevented and if the garden had been allowed to remain it would have opened the doors for further development in the green belt.

Mrs Jackson, a teacher at Oswaldtwistle's Moor End School, said she and her husband, an electrician, were shocked and too upset to talk about the decision.

When Mr and Mrs Jackson moved to their house in Holme Lea 12 years ago they also bought extra land which doubled the garden's size to one and a half acres but stretched into an area designated as green belt by Hyndburn Council.

The land cannot be altered from its natural state so the couple must return the area they have developed to its former appearance.

As a whole the garden now comprises shrubs, trees, herbaceous borders with flowered perennial plants, trellises, paths, a vegetable garden and walkways.

It was when a summerhouse was constructed in the green belt part of the garden that 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 last year and an enforcement notice was served in October asking them to return the green belt half of the garden to its natural state.

The Jacksons appealed but John Davies, an independent planning inspector, upheld the council's decision.

Mr Lyons said: "This has been an unfortunate case. The owners chose to ignore our advice that they should not go ahead with making this garden."