PIXIE dust was the secret weapon used by West Craven councillors to extricate themselves from a bizarre planning wrangle over a children's Wendy house.

Urging fellow councillors to "chuck out" a proposal to remove or re-site the Barnoldswick playhouse, Coun Allan Buck told them, in the words of Peter Pan: "All you need is faith and trust, and a little bit of pixie dust."

It was the surreal climax to a story that was featured this week on national TV and radio, and in most national newspapers.

It all started back in October, when David and Julie Goodwill put up a four feet by six feet wooden Wendy house in the garden of their home on Coates Lane. Their children Ben, eight, and Katie, six, thought it was wonderful, but someone disagreed and complained to Pendle Council.

The day after the Wendy house was completed, a planning officer called to investigate the complaint. He found there was no problem with the Wendy house itself, but its siting on the gable end of the house put it beyond the existing building line and within 20 metres of the highway put it in breach of national planning rules.

If it stayed where it was, it would need planning approval. Alternatively it could be moved to the rear garden, where there was ample room and no permission was needed, or it could be taken down.

Initially Mr Goodwill agreed to move it to the rear garden, but when that wasn't done within the agreed two weeks, a report was sent to the council's West Craven committee, which met this week.

The notion of a faceless, rule-bound, "Scrooge" council breaking the hearts of two young children by demanding enforcement action to remove their Wendy house brought the national news spotlight to bear on Barnoldswick. TV cameras were even present at the council meeting, held in Barnoldswick's Baptist Church Centre.

In fact, that notion was some way from the truth. Tuesday's meeting was the first opportunity for the council to reach any decision on the matter, and it decided to take no further action.

Speaking at the meeting, Mrs Goodwill said they couldn't believe the level of public interest in the Wendy hosue as it had seemed such a trivial matter. She said they had bought it so their children and their friends could play safely away from the street. They didn't realise there was any problem with putting it on the gable end and her husband had only finished it the day before the planning officer called.

"We were only trying to provide enjoyment and safety for our children," she said.

Coates Ward councillor Allan Buck likened the whole thing to a pantomime, saying it was the right time of year for such entertainment. He had done his research, looking in the dictionary to discover that a "Wendy house" was a model house for children to play in, named after the one made for Wendy in JM Barrie's Peter Pan.

He said the council should not play Captain Hook by threatening to take the Wendy house away, but instead play Peter Pan by letting the children continue to enjoy their childhood.

Coun David Whipp agreed, but stressed that council officers had a duty to investigate any complaint and report to elected members, whose job it was to make the decision.

"This is the first time this has come before councillors and I think we tend to look at things with a little bit of common sense and pragmatism and 99 times out of 100 we come to the right decision."

He said the Wendy house was not unsightly and didn't interfere with highway safety, describing the whole thing as "a storm in a toddlers' tea cup".

Members voted unanimously to take no further action over the Wendy house.

Speaking the following day, Pendle Council's chief executive Stephen Barnes said: "I am delighted to say that the council has made a sensible decision to allow the children to keep their Wendy house.

"We have been in a difficult position. We are legally bound to enforce national planning regulations and we had to respond to the complaint which was made about this Wendy house.

"Mr Goodwill had originally agreed to move it to his large back garden when we visited him in October to discuss the problem. This would have meant staying within the law whilst making sure he and his wife could see his children from the house for their safety - something which was not possible where the Wendy house was sited at the side of the house near the road.

"Unfortunately the Wendy house was still there in December which is why we had to consider enforcement action and why the story has been blown out of proportion.

"I'm happy to say that we have used our common sense to allow some flexibility - especially as it seems that in this case most neighbours do not object to it."