A PAINTBALL operator with a five-star rating and A-list clients, including Wayne Rooney, is fighting for the future of its Ringwood site.

Delta Force owns a string of centres across the country, including the Vinewood centre at Wattons Ford Common near Matchams.

Paint-balling is an increasingly popular choice for stag parties, team-building events and school excursions.

But East Dorset council says the centre was built without planning permission and the owners had not applied to change the use of the ground.

The council says that buildings including a wooden fort and castle, wood-chipping trails and an access road have all been built without planning permission.

Cllr Mike Dyer, the chairman of the council's planning committee, said he was puzzled by the decision of the operators to build the facility without authorisation.

"It seems strange that this development was carried out without asking for full planning permission," said Cllr Mike Dyer. Mike Hirsh, the council's senior planning officer, said the district authority was seeking to close the park.

"We expect all of our enforcement notices to be upheld. We are effectively appealing for cessation of use and for all the structures to be removed," said Mr Hirsh.

The park is built on green belt land adjacent to the Avon Valley Special Protection Area, a site of special scientific interest, Mr Hirsh added.

The council was also concerned by parking implications for Wattons Lane, said the planning chief.

A spokesman for Delta Force said staff from the company's planning department were out of the country and unavailable for comment.

A public enquiry will be held to decide the park's future at the council's Furze Hill headquarters on April 29 at 10am.