Reality TV personality Stephen Bear faces court over fence row with council

06 February 2023 , 22:31

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Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear is involved in a legal battle with a council (Image: Twitter/ @stephen__bear)

Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear is facing a legal battle with his local council over a fence at his Essex home.

Bear, 33, has fallen foul of Epping District Council (EDC) due to the height of the black fence, which circles the front of his property, and for allegedly failing to remove the fence when ordered to in May 2021.

The Ex on the Beach star is now set to appear in court again, after denying breaching the enforcement order at a hearing in Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in March last year.

Bear was given a notice by local planners to remove the metal fencing, in 2021.

Stephen Bear won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016 (PA)

In a statement to the Mirror, EDC said the gates and railings at his home in Loughton are "in excess of the permitted development height".

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The council added that Bear, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, did not appeal the notice.

The gates outside Stephen Bear's Essex home (SWNS)

EDC added: "Prosecution proceedings have been commenced against Stephen Bear, the owner of the property for failing to comply with the notice."

Bear had been ordered to remove the fencing, support posts and gates, but court documents reportedly say he was in breach of the order between August 2021 and January last year, Essex Live reports.

On March 3 last year, Bear denied breaching the order and chose a trial by jury in the crown court. The trial had been scheduled to start last week, but has been postponed until October.

Katherine Heslop