A luxury house will have to be moved, have 18in shaved off one side or be knocked down after it was built in the wrong place by a matter of inches.

Neighbours complained to planners about the builders of Plot 1, Halstead Farm, Kings Road, Easterton, Wiltshire, when the house just did not seem quite right.

And when the man from the council arrived armed with a tape measure, he discovered the luxury Scandinavian-style, four-bed house had been built about 18 inches too far to the right.

That prompted a chain of events that culminated in Kennet District Council deciding last week to refuse planning permission for a house.

Now developer Danish Homes and local architect Keith Bennett have legitimate planning permission for a house exactly the same as the one they have built but 18 inches away. What they do not have is planning permission for the house that is there.

And that means Kennet council enforcers are about to start proceedings to either get the house knocked down, moved or have the offending 18 inches taken off.

Shortly before Christmas, the same planning team ordered a couple to rethatch their home because the straw wasn't long enough.

Yesterday, neighbours affected by the saga spoke of their feelings.

Sean Barrett, who lives next door, said the entire build had been a nightmare, and blamed both the council and the builders.

"Right now, whatever happens is going to be a disaster for me, where I live and the neighbours around, I'm just working out what the least- worst result could be," he said.

"I am not the whistleblower who alerted the council, but I am wondering why the council hadn't noticed it was being built in the wrong place on the many times they visited early on. It's obvious why it's been built 18 inches that way, because it's so big and would have been so close to my house that they probably couldn't physically build it where they had permission for it."

"It is a completely overthe-top, ugly monstrosity of a house that is far too big for the plot and badly affects all the other houses around.

"I think everyone around here objected to it, and is asking why the council has now refused permission for the house where it is, on the grounds it is oppressive to the neighbours, when they gave permission for the same house in the first place a year ago. I can't win because if the house is moved, ironically, it will end up closer to my house.

"The council getting tough over 18 inches is bizarre, but the architect and builders aren't the victims in all this the residents having to put up with the house in the first place are."

Architect Keith Bennett said: "I do not know how the mistake happened. Knocking a chunk off one end would cost us up to £30,000 and it would knock thousands of pounds off the value of the house."

Council chiefs said they had a range of options open to them.

"We could put a full enforcement order on them to pull the whole house down," explained Councillor Philip Brown.

"We could order them to demolish it, or we could tell them to take it back to the original footprint of the house. They must have known the house was built in the wrong place."