A COUPLE in their 70s have been forced to move out of their Grade II listed home after returning from holiday to discover the neighbouring terraced cottage had been bulldozed flat.

In the process, the roof of their dining room had been removed and the outside wall of their lavatory replaced by a simple plasterboard sheet.

Craven District Council is investigating what could be a flouting of listed building consent by the owner of the 18th century building.

Planning permission had been granted to build an extension on the original property, demolish old extensions and carry out new construction work.

But what Joan and Geoff Peel saw when they returned to Nutter Cote Farm in Church Road, Thornton-in-Craven, their home for 40 years, was a flattened site resembling a building plot.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Mrs Peel. "We had left home to spend time on our boat on the canal and came back to find the adjoining house was gone. It was unbelievable. We understood that his permission was to build on, not knock the whole thing down.

"I just burst into tears. It was a horrendous. I don't want to live here – it's awful. We've been happy here for 40 years, but this is no longer our home."

Her husband said: "Imagine what it's like to return home and find the next door house a building site when you didn't expect it."

In demolishing the house, his neighbours had broken through into the bathroom and simply covered the gap with plasterboard.

"We can see straight outside when using the toilet," Mr Peel said.

Their dining room was beneath their neighbour's bathroom and in removing the bathroom, the roof of their dining room had also been taken up. It is now only protected from the elements by timber and a plastic sheet.

This week, the couple were told by the insurance company their home is no longer safe and they will have to be rehoused.

Craven Council granted listed building consent in December for an extension to the old building, the demolition of rear east end extensions, the raising of the bathroom roof plus a new garage and garden store.

Officers believe the two homes were once a single cottage and barn dating back to the 18th century and note there is a 'flying freehold', in which a bathroom had been constructed across the Peels' dining room.

A Craven Council spokesman said this week: “On Thursday, April 28, the council received complaints about works to Nutter Cote Farm, a Grade II listed building.

"Officers immediately attended the site and are now undertaking an investigation into the unauthorised demolition.”

The Herald was unable to contact the owner of the neighbouring cottage.