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A man who forked out £5,000 on a driveway to help his disabled wife has been told to tear it down.

Stephen Price, from Hengoed in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, has vowed to challenge Caerphilly County Council after they turned down his retrospective planning application.

The 65-year-old plumber and builder began transforming his front garden into a drive around 10 weeks ago, and was nearing completion when council officers told him to halt work because he lacked permission. He then lodged a planning application, which was turned down last week following a majority vote by councillors.

His wife Kim Price, 67, suffers from a number of health conditions including heartfailure, achalasia, arthritis, anaemia, and fibromyalgia.

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The pair explained that a shortage of spaces means they typically have to park on another road on the estate, which creates difficulties for Mrs Price due to her mobility issues.

Mr Price, who faces a bill of approximately £13,000 to undo the alterations, alleged the council failed to warn him planning permission would be required when he requested a dropped kerb roughly 15 to 20 years ago.

He told Wales Online: "I told the council I wanted a drive and they said I'd need a dropped kerb so I paid them what would be about £500 in today's money to put one in," he said.

"I can't understand how the highways department didn't speak to the planning department at the time. Nothing was said about any restrictions on using it."

When quizzed about the lengthy gap between installing the dropped kerb and beginning driveway construction, Mr Price explained: "We weren't really desperate for a drive then.

"It was more of a want at that point but now we are desperate with my wife's health and the parking issue getting worse. We saved up to do it."

A planning official urged fellow councillors to reject the proposal due to fears that removing the elevated front garden would leave the property at odds with the "distinctive character of the area".

They also warned that other homeowners might be tempted to follow suit if approval was granted. Mr Price, who purchased the semi-detached property from the council around 1990, acknowledged that few homes on his road boast driveways - but insisted this wasn't true of the estate's other four streets.

"It's like the council is prejudicing against our street saying we can't have driveways when about 20 other houses on the estate have them," said Mr Price, who highlighted that none of his neighbours had raised objections to his proposal.

Mr Price plans to appeal the decision on the basis that "there is not one single look to the neighbourhood" and that the council is "discriminating against our street".

He had told councillors on the planning committee that he had already spent more than £5,000 hiring a digger and excavating part of his property, adding: “To put it all back – we haven’t got the money to do it anyway.”

Speaking in support of the application, Hengoed ward councillor Donna Cushing said Mr Price had been "unaware planning permission would be required" and that parking on another street made it hard for Mrs Price to get home.

Committee member councillor Nigel Dix urged his colleagues to “show a bit of compassion” and overrule the officer’s recommendation. “I think in this case we should allow the residents to have their parking bay,” he said.

Councillor Shane Williams said he “sympathised” with the applicant’s case but “if every homeowner decided to do this that would totally undermine” the street.

Councillor Mansell Powell called the case “a bit untidy” with Mr Price “caught in the middle” of planning rules. He claimed the presence of a dropped kerb outside the property suggested one could “drive in” to it.

The committee voted to refuse the application by eight votes to four with two abstentions. The chairman, councillor Roy Saralis, said he had a “tremendous amount of sympathy” for Mr Price and told him he had the right to appeal the decision.

He added: “Obviously it’s a sad situation but planning is planning.” The Mirror has approached Caerphilly council for comment.