A couple are facing the devastating prospect of demolishing their lavish £1 million dream abode due to a severe "flagrant breach" of planning regulations.

However, Jeremy Zielinski and his wife Elaine are protesting their dire situation which would leave them homeless, maintaining that they were oblivious to any rule violations. The pair had initially received the green light for a two-tier commercial building intended for stallion semen extraction and analysis, featuring a modest upstairs flat for workers.

Despite conforming to external specifications in their Great Abington, Cambridgeshire plan, the interiors tell a different tale, having been transformed into a plush three-bedroom residence showcasing magnificent windows with bucolic views. Council officials caught wind of the deceit and served an enforcement directive to dismantle the edifice.

Yet as Mrs Zielinski, aged 79, expressed to journalists recently: "We want to carry on living here. It's a warm and comfortable home. I love it. It doesn't make sense to tear it down. I don't want to go and live in a caravan. If we are chucked out, we will be having to rely on the state."

The Zielinskis, doting grandparents to six, challenged the South Cambridgeshire District Council's 2023 ruling, asserting the punishment was disproportionate and contending that the property could revert to its authorised intention, reports the Mirror.

Their appeal has since been rejected following a planning inspector's determination that the couple had deliberately "constructed a dwelling from the off", thus concluding a "a clear and flagrant breach of planning policy".

Mrs Zielinski, a GP's receptionist, insisted to Mail Online: "We would not have gone on and built this and put all our money into it unless we thought it was totally legal to do it."

Her husband, 73, who previously worked as a marketing manager for The Injured Jockeys Fund and now delivers for a pharmacy, lamented: "I have not had a decent night's sleep in years and, from the moment when we got the first visit in 2020 [from council officials], life has been shaky."

The couple from Great Abington, just seven miles southeast of Cambridge, faced mixed reactions from neighbours after their appeal was turned down. A local resident expressed his sympathy, saying: "I genuinely feel sorry for him."

South Cambridgeshire District Council, under Liberal Democrat control, emphasised that the case underscores the significance of planning regulations in safeguarding rural areas.

Councillor Dr Tumi Hawkins, the council's lead cabinet member for planning, declared his approval of "the inspector's clear decision".

He further commented: "This case shows the importance of adhering to the specific uses and conditions that justify development in rural areas. Planning rules are there for a reason – including protecting our countryside and this decision demonstrates that we will act when those rules are broken."