A FATHER has been threatened with prosecution unless he removes a fence he put up to protect his children from a busy road.

Paul Stewart, of Greenbarn Way, Blackrod, put up the four foot wooden fence to make his garden safer for his sons Carl Stewart-Convery, aged four, and Stephen Convery, aged 10.

Bolton Council told Mr Stewart and his partner Michelle Convery that they did not have planning permission for the barrier, and must take it down by September 1 - otherwise they and their landlord, Regency Estates in Horwich, will face prosectution.

Mr Stewart, a support worker for disabled people, said: "It is a busy road because it is near Blackrod Primary School. It is on a corner and buses and cars come flying round.

"The house overlooks a field where people often walk their dogs, and we have found dog excrement in the garden on occasions.

"The landlord sent a builder round and put up the fence, but now we have been told to take it down.

"I'm really angry about this because I just want my kids to be safe. I wonder what the council will say if my children get killed on the road?"

A council spokesman said: "The owner was required to apply for planning permission to build a fence as the house is on an open plan estate.

"Conditions in the original planning application, dating back to when the house was built in 1982, also require permission to be sought for the erection of a fence.

"The application was refused on the grounds that the fence detracted from the appearance of the area.

"An enforcement notice requesting that the fence be taken down has been served on both the landlord and the tenant. If this notice is not complied with or an appeal is not lodged, then this will result in prosecution proceedings."

The landlord, Regency Estates, which erected the fence after being approached by Mr Stewart, was unavailable for comment.