Woman to fight council window ruling after 'drunk man falls into lounge'

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Supplied Tammie McNeill, wearing a grey coat, scarf, glasses and denim jeans, standing next to the only window of her flat that has not been damaged. It’s a long glass window with a white frame and a white, metal window guard made up of bars on top of it.

A woman who installed protective bars after her windows were "smashed in" by drunken revellers has vowed to fight a council after being told to take them down.

Tammie McNeill, from Woodbridge, Suffolk, put in the "expensive" handmade guards 18 months ago after paying £2,000 to repair her shattered windows.

On one occasion, she said an "extremely drunk man" ended up in her living room after falling through the window, while another broke a pane as she watched television.

But East Suffolk Council instructed her to remove the bars from her flat at Mariners Court, in New Street, after they were installed without planning permission or listed building consent.

Supplied A property's exterior brick wall with three windows on it. The three windows have thin white metal bars on them.

McNeill, however, said removing them would "seriously affect" her quality of life and leave her feeling "on edge every single evening".

"The window guards were the only thing that gave me peace of mind, but now I'm being forced to remove them," she said.

"My health is going to decline because of this, so whoever complained, I hope you're very pleased with yourself – shame on you."

Supplied A large white, wooden window frame with its glass smashed out. The image is taken from inside the home on which the window is attached, showing the outside, which is dark.

McNeill, who lives with her two white huskies, said only one of her historical property's original, "vulnerable" windows now remained, and she was keen to preserve it.

She said the grills had worked as a deterrent, not only stopping drinkers from damaging her windows, but also preventing them from sitting on her window sills and putting their glasses on them.

"I don't want to come across as a nimby, but I was up and down at my windows every time I heard a drunken group," she said.

"But the moment they were fitted, I just relaxed and my dogs all relaxed, too, because they were picking up on my severe anxiety."

Ben Parker/BBC Tammie McNeill sitting on the grass. She is wearing a red jacket and light-coloured leggings. She is wearing glasses and has blonde hair. She has three large fluffy white dogs around her. Behind her is a ramp used for dog training.

She was first ordered to remove the grills - which the authority said were "unlawful" - in October and then again this week, having failed to comply.

In a letter seen by the BBC, the council's enforcement officers advised her that retrospective planning permission would unlikely be granted and said she had 28 days to take them down or "formal action" could be taken.

"I just cannot have them removed because I cannot be without them, so I have told the council I'm happy to fight them in court," she added.

East Suffolk Council was contacted for comment.

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