A MUM says she has been left with a chunk of land she can’t do anything with because of council bureaucracy.

Sarah Hill, 47, who lives in Sherford Close on the Northmoor Park estate in Wareham, has accused Purbeck District Council of “discriminatory inconsistency” in the way she has been dealt with.

The mum of two said she bought one of the many “buffer zones” around the estate after seeing that a similar patch of land adjoining houses opposite had been absorbed into their gardens.

It took an astonishing eight years to complete the purchase, said Sarah, because the council eventually discovered that it did not own the land; it belonged to the original developer.

Sarah, who has lived at the property for 17 years, said she went ahead and bought the strip at “considerable cost” having been advised that planning permission to use the land as part of her existing garden would be a formality.

But she says the council has now backtracked and says it cannot be used for personal use and has to be restored to its original state.

Sarah, who added that her neighbour was in the same position, said: “It seems that I have no case, despite the precedent that is adjacent to my house.

“I am now in a position where I own a piece of land that is of no use to me in the slightest.”

A council spokesman said: “We have received a formal complaint from Ms Hill and are currently investigating all aspects of this matter in order that we can provide a full response to Ms Hill.”