A self employed Kenley man has to raise the roof on the dream home he has just built and then drop it by a depth of six bricks to meet planning rules.

Terence Scully has hit out at a High Court decision ordering him to reduce the height of his bungalow by 45cm, saying: "I'm just amazed, it's ridiculous."

He admits there was a small error with the scale drawings plans, but says that the alterations will now mean the ceilings for the three upstairs bedrooms and two upstairs bathrooms will be just six feet high.

The plans to add a second floor to the Church Road house were to make more space for his wife, himself and their two children. He said the alterations he is now forced to make "makes the space upstairs unviable".

Mr Scully, 49, who works in the building industry, had planning permission to add a first floor to his bungalow, but Croydon Council planners successfully argued the building did not match approved plans as the walls were too high.

As a result, Mr Scully now has until the end of next April to make the changes, which he says will cost an extra £40,000.

Croydon's planners believed the building did not match the approved plans and issued an enforcement notice, which Mr Scully appealed against.

But the Planning Inspectorate threw his case out, and this month the High Court also rejected his application for leave to appeal.

Mr Scully said: "The ceiling height is going to be 1.85m. If I knew that when we started, I wouldn't have bothered."

"We've lived here for 17 years. We are not developers, I'm just a normal chap with a normal family."

He still disputes the calculations produced by the council at the appeal hearing, but added: "We've lost and we can't do anything about it, we didn't get permission to appeal again."

Councillor Adrian Dennis, cabinet member for planning, urban design and environment, said in a statement: "Planning regulations are there to protect everyone's interests and the environment you can't ride roughshod over them."

Work on the house began in August last year, but ground to a halt due to the dispute in March. Mr Scully, who expected the work to take just three months to complete, said: "It's habitable, but it's pretty uncomfortable to live in. There's no insulation at the top and it's pretty damp."

Councillor Dennis said: "This will be a costly lesson to Mr Scully, but at least the original character of the road will be restored."

He said he hoped that the High Court decision would send a warning to anyone thinking of flouting the planning law, that they will be dealt with.