When Steve Todd finished building his own home he topped it off with red tiles and believed he had created a perfect place to live.

Unfortunately planning officials did not agree and ordered the red-tiled roof to be taken off because it was not "in keeping with the area".

In desperation Mr Todd even offered to cover the roof in yoghurt to attract moss and cover up the 2,000 offending tiles. But his plea was to no avail and he now has to strip the roof - leaving him almost £12,000 out of pocket.

Mr Todd, a firefighter, who moved in to the two-bedroom bungalow off Myrtle Grove Road in Bingley with his partner Christine Jowett, was stunned by the planners' ruling because he stuck to their initial advice. He even took it to appeal but an independent inspector upheld Bradford Council's decision.

"When I first went to ask planning officers about building regulations they said the best advice they could give me was to build in sympathy with the neighbours and that's just what I did," he said.

To keep in character with the Grade II listed building next door and its rosemary red pantiles, Mr Todd opted for red tiles. But he said Shipley Area Planners were not happy with his choice and eventually issued an enforcement order, telling him to replace them with natural blue Welsh slates instead.

He said: "It beats me how blue slates can be in keeping with red ones. I suppose I was a bit naive and should have got everything the planners first told me in writing. It's a warning to any other self-builders out there." And he added: "The neighbours were happy for the red tiles, they were just happy we'd built the bungalow. There used to be derelict garages there where children used to hang about."

Mr Todd said he had offered to paint the red tiles or to coat them in yoghurt to attract moss and obscure them - but planners would not change their mind.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: "A Government planning inspector agreed the tiles used on the bungalow were not in keeping with the area and Mr Todd was required to remove them and replace them with more appropriate tiles.

"Since then he has provided us with four samples and we have written back to him with our preferred choice, which is a natural blue Welsh slate tile."

e-mail: kathie.griffiths@bradford.newsquest.co.uk