A desperate mum says she'd rather go to prison than let a council knock down her home.
Stephanie Rolfe and her family face being homeless by Christmas plus a £60,000 bill after an order was made to demolish their house.
The 41-year-old and her partner Stuart MacDonald, 34, have been told the property doesn't "fit" with the area and has to go.
The couple, from Solihull, West Midlands, who live with kids Freddie, five, and Mollie, two, now have just 56 days to "dismantle" the home.
Built in a quiet cul-de-sac in Shirley, the timber structure sits on a plinth.
It replaced a garage that was built on the same site and they say they had it built under caravan legislation.
Stephanie said they believed it was "lawful" but Solihull Council think otherwise.
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The mum told The Sun: "I don’t want to demolish it. I’d rather go to prison than knock it down.
“This is my kids’ home and you’d do anything for your kids.
“We've offered to make changes that will allow us to keep our home but the council won’t listen."
Stuart previously said: "We will be homeless by Christmas. Our son is disabled and has a helper in the local school, there's no way we can get a house near here."
The couple have been paying rates and council tax on the property.
Solihull Council said they "recognise the disappointment" the recent court decision will cause and are committed to supporting the family.
In 2018, they were looking for an affordable way to live near Stuart's mother and got retrospective planning permission to convert his mum's detached garage to a single two-storey dwelling.
Solihull planning officers had no objections to the development and only asking for a revised drainage scheme.
Once provided, the planning document stated "the scheme shall be implemented and managed in accordance with the approved details."
But due to the cost of building with bricks and mortar, the couple opted to use a local company to construct a mobile home instead.
Stephanie said they went through a company that constructs homes under caravan legislation that don't require planning permission and in February 2018 contacted the council to notify them.
She said she never received a response and so they started building that June before receiving a letter informing them the project breached planning regulations.
They applied for a lawful building development certificate as an assurance, but that was rejected by council planners.
Stephanie claims they didn't hear from the council for two months.
The couple then lost their appeal and were served a court order to demolish the home.
Stephanie added: "We've tried to mediate with the council on this to say we're going to be made homeless, we've got two young children, aged 2 and 4.
"We'd be financially ruined, we still owe money borrowed for the mobile home, and demolition costs of about £60,000."
She added: "We've offered to make affordable changes that will allow us to keep our home."
A council spokesperson said the couple began building with planning permission and were informed the works were unauthorised in June 2018.
They continued: "All actions were undertaken in accordance with national planning legislation and guidance and have been verified though the national Planning Inspectorate at appeal.
"As the Local Planning Authority, we have worked with the family for over four years to respond to enquiries and consider planning based applications openly and fairly, with a view to finding a fair and equitable solution.
"We recognise the disappointment that the recent court decision will cause and are committed to supporting the family as best we can through our housing and social service functions."
