posted 08-14-2003 10:31 AM                       

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An accountant who repeatedly refused to knock down a "hideous" DIY extension was jailed for three months yesterday. Sylvester Nseowo's half-built extension runs along the entire length of the back of his five-bedroom house.

He failed to get planning permission and carried out the work so badly that the council said it could have been blown down by a strong wind. Neighbours said it was a "total monstrosity" that would drive down house prices and put people off buying in the street.

They complained to Telford and Wrekin council and yesterday, after several court hearings, Nweowo, 43, was jailed. Dave Morgan, a council spokesman, said: "We regret the fact that Mr Nseowo is now going to prison . . . but he had plenty of time to take down the extension."

He said Nseowo had built the extension using seven-foot high girders but had not put in any steel supports or concrete. "If there had been a high wind he could have killed himself or someone walking past," Mr Morgan said. "No one would stand a chance if that thing landed on top of them." The council will remove the extension while Nseowo is in prison.

Neighbours began complaining to the authorities in 2001, shortly after Nseowo began work. After issuing repeated orders to Nseowo to remove the extension the council eventually took him to court. Last year, he was fined £20,000 for refusing to comply with a court order to pull it down.

In June Stoke-on-Trent county court gave him a three-month sentence, suspended for 28 days, to allow him to "come to his senses". But, after still refusing to pull it down, Judge John Rubery, sitting at Stafford Crown Court yesterday, activated the sentence.

Nseowo argued that he should have the right to do what he liked on his own property. Colin Evans, a next-door neighbour, said yesterday: "It is a great shame that someone has had to lose their liberty because of an extension but I am sure that all the neighbours will be glad to see that monstrous extension removed."

He said that Nseowo, originally from Nigeria, was "always polite and amiable" and had never caused any problems apart from the building work. He said the accountant appeared to have little or no knowledge or experience of building and "did not even know what a spirit level was for".

He added: "I just can't put into words how horrendous it is. The front of the house looks lovely but the rear looks terrible. "It's a total monstrosity. The roof extends half way up the upstairs windows and the roof is just, well, unique. It's hideous."

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