A guesthouse owner could lose his business after council chiefs ruled that the roof was just 75cm too high.

Ed Smith, 44, had converted a derelict barn into bedrooms four years ago to expand his bed and breakfast business in Dundry, near Bristol.

Officials from North Somerset Council inspected the building years later and found Mr Smith had raised the height of the roof without planning permission.

He immediately applied for retrospective planning permission but this was refused by the council, which say the structure ruins Green Belt land.

Mr Smith has now been ordered to return the 19th-century barn to its original state by April – despite having the backing of his neighbours.

The businessman claims that turning the 18-room guesthouse back into an agricultural building will force him to shut his business.

He is adamant that he only raised the roof to create a nesting space for migratory birds and is desperate not to lose the £250,000 he invested in the conversion.

Mr Smith said: “It is so demoralising. It just seems so crazy to be caught up in this red tape that is strangling so many small businesses.

“I can understand if the building was an eyesore but I have spent a fortune on making it look great.

“The council have got a bee in their bonnet about this and they are acting like a big bully. All of my neighbours and my parish council are behind me.

“I have tried so hard to do the right thing. I raised the roof because an ecologist said there were ten or 11 swallow nests in there, as well as bat droppings. It’s being used as its intended purpose as a bird and bat loft. The barn is not causing any harm to the green belt.

“To ruin my business and lose six people’s jobs over 75 cms is just unbelievable.”

Mr Smith is now considering whether he will change the building in time for the council’s deadline of April.

Nick Yates, spokesman for North Somerset Council, said Mr Smith had not applied for planning permission to convert the barn or raise its roof.

He said: “Two barns were converted and their roofs raised without planning permission. The owner has submitted a retrospective planning application which was turned down. He appealed but lost. We have served enforcement notices and he has also appealed against those – these appeals were turned down by the Planning Inspectorate. These enforcement notice state that the buildings need to be returned to their original condition by April.”